Police: Bucks County Man Arrested For Sending Anti-Semitic Messages To Jewish Man On Thanksgiving
WARWICK TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- A man was arrested for sending anti-Semitic messages to a Jewish man on Thanksgiving. Hunter Robert-William Ryan, 21, was arrested Tuesday evening and arraigned on the misdemeanor charges.
Police say Ryan sent the victim images of a Nazi flag, a video of Adolf Hitler and a picture of Anne Frank followed by a photo of ashes.
When the victim asked Ryan to stop and asked why he was sending the messages, Ryan replied, "Because it's funny," according to police.
"People deserve to feel safe across all forms of communication," said District Attorney Matthew Weintraub. "While we review these incidents on a case by case basis, generally hate speech becomes criminal when it is implicitly harassing or threatening towards someone else. If you are threatened in a text message or on social media, please don't engage. Take screenshots of the offending messages and report them to the police."
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27.