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Jacob Beacher was due for an initial afternoon appearance on federal hate crime charges in U.S. District Court in Newark on April 22.
Beacher broke into the CILRU shortly after 2:30 a.m. April 10 and did an estimated $40,000 worth of damage, state and federal authorities said.
It was during the Eid-al-Fitr -- the Islamic holiday commemorating the end of sunrise-to-dusk fasting during the holy month of Ramadan -- making it a hate crime, they said.
Beacher might be familiar to some: He appeared as a witness in a 2020 TV news report after two people were killed and several others wounded by four gunmen at a birthday party near Rutgers.
He was raised in nearby Metuchen and was living on Delafield Street in New Brunswick when the shooting occurred.
Beacher, who was recorded on surveillance video, broke a pane of glass on the back door, pushed through a piece of plexiglass inside, reached in through the broken glass and unlatched a deadbolt, an FBI complaint unsealed on Monday says.
Once inside, he destroyed or damaged religious artifacts, including clay Turbah prayer stones and other valuables that contained language from the Qur'an, the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Newark says.
Beacher, of North Plainfield, also stole a Palestinian flag and a CILRU donation box, it says.
Beacher left through the back door, paced for a few minutes around the nearby Rutgers Student Center, then rode his bicycle toward Buccleuch Park in New Brunswick,
Center officials said they also found shattered windows, vandalized TVs and broken printers at the CILRU on on College Avenue in the heart of the school's main campus.
"This reprehensible act, occurring on our sacred day, is undoubtedly fueled by Islamophobia," they said in a release. "[It] is clearly a hate crime targeting our Muslim population at Rutgers."
The CILRU’s chaplain canceled all Eid-al-Fitr religious celebrations that were scheduled, and the CILRU remained closed on April 11th and 12th.
Two concerned citizens reported finding the donation box on the east side of the park, which is where authorities later tracked his cellphone.
Beacher is officially charged federally with intentional or attempted obstruction of religious practice and lying to federal authorities, according to a joint release issued Monday afternoon by U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin.
Platkin, the state attorney general, called the attack an "appalling" and "terrible" assault on "an important place of gathering for Muslims on campus."
He and Sellinger credited a host of agencies that united to identify and capture Beacher -- among them, special agents of the FBI's Branchburg office, prosecutors and detectives from the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, detectives from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, Rutgers and New Brunswick police, New Jersey State Police and the NJSP's Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory.
Learning of the arrest, the Center issued a statement Monday afternoon that reads, in part:"We applaud and appreciate the efforts of federal and state law enforcement who have been diligently investigating. We have been kept apprised of the investigation as it took place and we express a sense of relief and safety knowing that the suspect is in custody. We look forward to the process of justice being meted out.
"We are humbled by the amazing and generous outpouring from the Rutgers community and the community at large. These acts of support from outright donations, donations in kind to replace stolen and damaged items, flowers, balloons, calls and emails have been overwhelming and heartening. We are thankful and grateful.
"This act of terror will not intimidate or break our community. We stand in firm faith and with resolve to redouble our efforts to the mission of our center. This incident did not occur in a vacuum. We condemn those that are stoking lies and hate on our campus and those who are engaging in doublespeak that have led to this violence, other acts of hate and bigotry on our campus and in particular against our students.
"Anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bigotry must be recognized and routed out and we will continue to do our part in eliminating policies, bias, and language that enable it. This incident is representative of a bigger issue – the dehumanization of Palestinian lives and voices abroad and locally; so this act of terror cannot be properly addressed without recognizing and correcting that systemic issue. We urge our campus and the greater community to join with us in this mission."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin and Deputy Chief R. Joseph Gribko of Sellinger's office and Trial Attorney Daniel Grunert of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are handling the case.
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