Two Syracuse University students are facing hate crime charges after allegedly tossing a bag of pork into a Jewish frat house during a Rosh Hashanah celebration.
The incident occurred around 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Zeta Beta Tau house, where the fraternity brothers had gathered for the Jewish New Year.
Zeta Beta Tau is a historically Jewish fraternity. Jewish dietary law prohibits the consumption or touching of pork.
One of the suspects, Samuel Patten, is accused of entering the house and throwing a clear plastic bag of meat, splattering the contents on a wall and the floor.
He then fled the house and got into a Jeep Wrangler driven by another man, Kyle Anderson, police said. They were captured soon after and charged with burglary as a hate crime and criminal nuisance.
Both suspects are 18 years old.
“This incident is not a foolish college prank and will not be treated as such,” said Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick. “It will be treated for what it is, a crime directed against a group of Jewish students enjoying a celebratory dinner and seemingly secure in their residence.”
Allen Groves, the university’s chief student experience officer, said the accused students may also face disciplinary action for violating the code of conduct.
“Tonight’s incident, as reported to us, is abhorrent, shocking to the conscience and violates our core value of being a place that is truly welcoming to all,” Groves said in a statement posted on the university’s website. “It will not be tolerated at Syracuse University.”
