Tipster Said Suspected Synagogue Vandal Is Known White Supremacist: Prosecutor

By Stephen Gossett in News on Feb 9, 2017 9:14PM

The man accused of smashing the window of a Loop synagogue and defacing the entrance with swastika stickers was ordered held on $150,000 bond, according to reports.

Stuart Wright, 31, faces one felony count of committing a hate crime against a synagogue and another felony count for criminal damage. He allegedly vandalized the synagogue, at 16 S. Clark St., early on Saturday.

"We can't tolerate this behavior," Judge Donald Panarese Jr. said as he set bond, according to the Sun-Times.

Wright was apprehended in part due to a tip, according to police. The tipster said Wright is a known white supremacist; and Wright's fingerprints were a match with those taken from the stickers, prosecutors reportedly said on Thursday in court.

Authorities also found a pamphlet that read, "How to Own a N------," the Sun-Times reports.

Wright was arrested on Tuesday morning as he left a residence in the 2100 block of S. Loomis St.

The American Jewish Committee praised the arrest on Wednesday and championed the show of solidarity from other faiths shown in the wake of the incident. "This act of anti-Semitism was meant to threaten the community, but it brought together the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities with a renewed purpose to stand together against such hate,” AJC Chicago Director Amy Stoken said in a statement. “Our community has been heartened by the overwhelming show of solidarity and we will continue to stand together with the understanding that no one community is safe unless all communities are safe.”