UConn student painted swastika near Jewish campus center during Passover, charged with hate crime

UConn student painted swastika near Jewish campus center during Passover, charged with hate crime, police say


A 21-year-old UConn student was arrested Thursday and charged with a hate crime one month after a swastika was found spray-painted on the side of a chemistry building on campus during Passover and directly across the street from UConn Hillel.

Kristopher Pieper was charged with third-degree intimidation based on bias and third-degree criminal mischief, UConn police announced Thursday afternoon.

An arrest warrant affidavit details how investigators traced Pieper back to the crime using campus security camera footage, wireless internet records and his use of his student access card to enter buildings the night of the incident.

“We are grateful to UConn Police for their efforts, which, along with our clearly articulated values as an institution, help to demonstrate that hateful acts such as these will never be tolerated at UConn,” university President Thomas Katsouleas wrote in a message to students and staff before the announcement. “Every member of our community — students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests — deserves to feel safe and respected at UConn. Anyone who violates that principle goes against the values this university exists to uphold.”

Read more: https://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-br-uconn-anti-semitic-graffiti-arrest-20210429-4yfkfey5dfhr7noulbpywmytyy-story.html