A New York man was taken into custody Wednesday morning and charged with federal hate crimes after he repeatedly attacked Jewish counterprotesters at anti-Israel demonstrations in New York City between 2024 and 2025, as stated in an indictment made public by the Department of Justice.
Tarek Bazrouk, 20, is facing three accusations of committing hate crimes for allegedly targeting and assaulting Jewish individuals at three NYC protests connected to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Bazrouk was apprehended following each of the three incidents, but “remained undeterred and quickly returned to using violence to target Jews in New York City,” according to U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York.
The first instance took place on April 15, 2024, when Bazrouk – who the DOJ said was wearing a green headband “typically worn by Hamas terrorists” – allegedly attended a protest outside the New York Stock Exchange in Lower Manhattan.
Law enforcement obtained warrants to search a cellphone allegedly used by Bazrouk, which revealed an “antisemitic bias” and “support for anti-Jewish terrorist groups, including Hamas,” the DOJ said, citing court documents.
Bazrouk allegedly identified himself as a “Jew hater” in text messages, called Jewish people “worthless,” and said “Allah” wanted “us [to] rid of [Jews],” among other vulgar statements, according to the documents, which added that he told a friend he was “mad happy” when he found out family members overseas were part of Hamas.
The DOJ described his phone as “littered with pro-Hamas and pro-Hizballah(sic) propaganda.”
If convicted on all three federal hate crime charges, Bazrouk faces a maximum of 30 years in prison – 10 years per count.
The charges against Bazrouk appear to be the first time federal hate crime charges have been filed in connection with the anti-Israel protests that have taken place across American college campuses since Oct. 7, 2023.
