Man Who Drew Swastikas On Loop Synagogue Required To Pay Restitution, Do Psych Treatment

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Aug 16, 2017 8:18PM

A Pilsen man who was accused of committing a hate crime earlier this year after defacing a synagogue in the Loop with swastikas has pled guilty in a deal with prosecutors that will not require him to serve further jail time.

Stuart Wright, 32, already served two days in Cook County Jail; additionally, he will be ordered to pay $4,500 in restitution and seek treatment for schizophrenia, which he has been diagnosed with.

His attorney Michael Byrne told the Sun-Times on Wednesday that Wright's crime "is not a hate-crime issue" but rather, "this is someone who is mentally ill." Wright was charged with a hate crime after police saw him in a security video putting swastika stickers around the Chicago Loop Synagogue and smashing a window there. According to the Sun-Times, police found Nazi paraphernalia outside Wright's apartment when he was arrested Feb. 7 and found a pamphlet inside with the n-word in the title, prosecutors said.

The surveillance video, below: