Bond Set For Jeffrey Fleming, Charged With Hurling Antisemitic Slurs, Dumping Feces, Spitting At Menorah At Chabad Of South Broward
HALLANDALE BEACH (CBSMiami) -- A man accused of hurling antisemitic slurs, dropping a bag of feces outside a synagogue and spitting at a menorah made his first appearance in bond court on Tuesday.
Hallandale Beach police arrested Jeffrey Carl Fleming on Monday on charges of felony stalking with a hate crime enhancement and littering human waste.
The judge set bond at $7,500 on Count 1 and $3,500 on county two, plus pretrial release with GPS monitor. He was also told not to return to the Chabad of South Broward.
In court, a Prosecutor said the Jewish community in Hallandale Beach and at the synagogue were in fear for their safety.
Fleming's defense attorney told the judge Fleming is confused about what is going on and requested a mental health screening.
Rabbi Raphael Tennenhaus of the Chabad told CBS4's Peter D'Oench "We Are hoping we will not have any more such incidents. We need to encourage people to increase their good deeds and kindness. Despite the fact that there is a lot of hatred in this world we have to rise above it and be better citizens and be a shining example to others."
In Miami, State Attorney General Ashley Moody said "Any hate crime In Florida will not be tolerated. And anti-semitism in Florida will not be tolerated. Any hate crime of any type is condemned. I know law enforcement stands together and we are working to stamp out any hate crime."
New surveillance tape released by the synagogue shows Fleming riding his bicycle around the parking lot of Chabad of South Broward and trying to enter a lunch room. He is unsuccessful. A security guard stops him.
Rabbi Mendy Tennenhaus said "The reaction is that all of us need to keep our eyes open and our ears open and make sure if you hear something say something. Flood the world with goodness. Flood the world with kindness. It's the only way that we as regular citizens can help with this."
In court a Prosecutor revealed that Fleming has been arrested before and was charged in 2015 with carrying a concealed weapon.
Meanwhile the Chabad of South Broward said they're beefing up security following the acts of hate.
One man who attends the Hallandale Beach synagogue told CBS4 he has been the target of hate at this same location in the past.
"He actually greeted us by saying, 'Shabbat shalom' and we were like, 'Shabbat shalom,'" said Joe Messa. "When we got 10 feet away from, he goes, 'Even though I'm a Nazi,' he screams to us, 'And I want to kill you all one by one.'"
Messa said acts of hate towards himself and others in the Jewish community are a harsh and perpetual reality.
According to Hallandale Beach police, officers responded to the Chabad of South Broward on Saturday.
The woman who called police said she saw a man dump a large bag of human feces on the sidewalk and shouted, "Jews should die."
CBS4 was first to obtain surveillance camera footage of an incident earlier that day which shows the same man spitting at the Menorah in the parking lot.
He was dressed in all white and riding an electric bicycle.
Across the nation, a surge of antisemitic attacks against the Jewish community are happening.
This as tensions rise over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"It is terrifying, frankly, as a Jew and an American to see this kind of hate," said Jacob Solomon, with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. "I've had so many discussions lately with people who are afraid to eat outside at a restaurant in a Jewish neighborhood or people who are afraid to wear their yarmulkes in public."
The Anti-Defamation League tracks incidents of hate.
Their data shows that Florida saw a near 40% increase in anti-Semitic incidents between 2019 and 2020.
The ADL also said Florida is one of the top states for these kinds of acts.
"To not go to synagogue or to not participate in Jewish life as a result of this is essentially to give a victory to the terrorist and a victory to the haters and the antisemites and that is intolerable," said Solomon.