An event hosted by “Broad City”’s Ilana Glazer at Brooklyn’s Murmrr Theatre—which is located inside the Union Temple, a Brooklyn synagogue—was canceled after anti-Semitic messages were found scrawled on the inside of the venue. The police arrested 26-year-old James Polite in connection with the vandalism on Friday, The New York Times reports. He was charged with a hate crime and criminal mischief for the incident.
Police took Polite into custody at the scene of a fire. He was also charged with arson and reckless endangerment for allegedly setting fires at four Jewish community buildings, including two schools. According to the Times, graffiti reading “Die Jew Rats,” “Hitler,” and “Jew better be ready” were written in black marker on the synagogue’s walls. On Saturday, Polite was being held for psychiatric evaluation.
Polite was profiled in a 2017 Times feature. For years, he interned with former New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn and worked on initiatives to fight hate crime, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
The event was set to feature Glazer in conversation with Amy Goodman, the host of the radio show “Democracy Now!,” and two candidates for New York State Senate. Murmrr Theatre is a concert venue; upcoming shows include Jeff Tweedy, OCS, Cass McCombs, Kimbra, and Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry. Pitchfork has hosted events at Murmrr in the past.
