The following is a statement released by Assemblyman William Colton in response to the horrific hate crime discovered in Midwood, Brooklyn this morning

“It is clear to me that some thug or thugs attempted to recreate the tragic events of Kristallnacht in Nazi Germany and Austria on the nights of November 9 and 10, 1938. The horrific and despicable hate crime scene discovered in Midwood this morning was nothing short of intentionally intimidating not only Jewish members of our community, but all peace loving people who reject intolerance, anti-Semitism, and violence. It is that same rage and intolerance we witnessed this morning that compelled me to introduce legislation back in 2006 to increase the penalty for swastika scrawling and burning crosses, with the intent to intimidate, to a class E felony up from a misdemeanor. My bill was signed into law and provides district attorney offices throughout New York additional teeth in the law to vigorously prosecute hate crime perpetrators and send them to jail.

I call on Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn to provide the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force with all of the resources they need to apprehend the vile criminal or criminals responsible for the Midwood hate crime. I also call on Kings County District Attorney Hynes to be mindful of my anti-Swastika legislation and to prosecute the people responsible for this crime to the fullest extent possible that the law allows. Let us send these twisted people a message that in this great country of ours, there is no room for hate and intolerance, but there is room for them in a cold hard jail cell. Justice must be served.”