Officials: Hanukkah Attack Suspect Researched Hitler Online

Federal criminal charges were filed Monday against a man who authorities say invaded a rabbi’s home and stabbed five people during a Hanukkah celebration, leaving one person critically injured.

An Orthodox Jewish man stands in front of a residence in Monsey, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, following a stabbing late Saturday during a Hanukkah celebration. A man attacked the celebration at the rabbi's home north of New York City late Saturday, stabbing and wounding several people before fleeing in a vehicle, police said. (AP Photo/Allyse Pulliam)Photographer: Allyse Pulliam/FR171683 AP
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Monsey, N.Y. (AP) -- A man charged with federal hate crimes Monday in a bloody attack on a Hanukkah celebration had handwritten journals containing anti-Semitic references and had recently used his phone to look up information on Hitler and the location of synagogues, authorities said.

Grafton Thomas, 37, was held without bail after appearing in federal court in White Plains on five counts of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by attempting to kill with a dangerous weapon. Five people were stabbed and slashed in the Saturday attack north of New York City.