A 24-year-old North Plainfield man has been arrested and charged with a federal hate crime for allegedly vandalizing the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University earlier this month, according to a complaint from the FBI.
Jacob Beacher is in custody in connection with vandalism during the Eid holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He was caught on surveillance video breaking into the center at the New Brunswick campus on April 10 around 2:41 a.m., damaging several religious items and other property, totaling $40,000.
Beacher is facing two federal charges — one count of damage to religious property and one count of making false statements to federal authorities for denying that he broke into the center. Beacher made an initial appearance on Monday in federal court in Newark and remains in federal custody. According to Rutgers Police, the investigation is ongoing and additional state charges are pending.
