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The incident occurred in Rockland County around 4:20 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3, in the Monsey area of Ramapo.
According to Lt. Chris Franklin of the Ramapo Police, a patrol officer spotted the man wearing a face mask while walking on Main Street in Monsey.
He watched as the man, identified as Benzion Rivlin, age 33, of Monsey, approached a joint American and Israeli flag on the property of a business located at 45 Main St., Franklin said.
Franklin said that Rivlin appeared to be using a spray paint can to damage the flag. The officer approached to intervene, and Rivlin ran while discarding the paint can and face covering.
Rivlin was apprehended after a brief foot pursuit, and the items were recovered.
After inspection, Franklin added that the flag sustained minimal damage due to the spray paint can malfunctioning.
Rivlin was arrested and charged with:
- Criminal mischief as a hate crime
- Making graffiti
- Possession of a graffiti instrument
- Trespass.
He was released on an appearance ticket for a return to the Town of Ramapo Criminal Court at a later date.
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