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The tiny Lewisboro Town Court, located in the Town House, was overflowing with supporters of a local Jewish family Monday night as four area teens were arraigned on hate-crime charges for allegedly spray-painting the familys home with swastikas and anti-Semetic slurs.
The four teens allegedly vandalized the Schecter residence on Elmwood Road in Lewisboro late Friday night.
Supporters included friends and neighbors of the Schecters, but strangers were on hand to express their outrage as well.
Seven members of the Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Somers Post No. 46, were in the galley, along with their wives, to observe the proceedings.
We support the victims of any bias crime, said Post Commander Lawrence Kaufman, a decorated Korean War veteran. We are all here tonight to show our indignation.
Later, when Town Justice Susan C. Simon issued an order of protection for the defendants to stay away from members of the Schecter family, many in the galley called for the four teens to be banned from school property.
[The defendants] put swastikas on the house and that is the signature of a Nazi, and Nazis should not be in American schools, Kaufman said.
Also on hand was attorney Steve Hudspeth, a spokesman for the Wilton Interfaith Action Group, based in Wilton, CT. The organization represents seven churches, one synagogue, and an Islamic center. Hudspeth said crimes such as this are an affront to any religion and can scar an entire community.
We are very concerned about what has happened here, Hudspeth told the court. Its not a matter of one group [being disparaged]. This is something that affects the entire community.
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