Syracuse students charged with hate crime over pork tossed at Jewish frat over holiday

Two students at Syracuse University in New York face hate crimes charges after authorities say one of them tossed a bag of pork into Jewish fraternity house during a Rosh Hashanah celebration.

Allen Groves, the chief student experience officer at Syracuse University, says the incident occurred around 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity house, where members had gathered to mark the Jewish New Year.

One of the two men is accused of entering the home and tossing a clear plastic bag of pork against an interior wall, splattering the contents there and on the floor, university police say.

The man then fled the home and got into a vehicle driven by another man. The two, both 18, were soon captured and have been charged with burglary as a hate crime and criminal nuisance.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick says the hate crime charge came about because it happened on a Jewish holiday at a historically Jewish fraternity.

“This incident is not a foolish college prank and will not be treated as such,” Fitzpatrick says. ”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.”