New Jersey man sentenced to 40 years in prison for 2022 antisemitic crime spree

Dion Marsh, 29, attacked four Orthodox Jewish men in Lakewood over the course of one day, stealing a man’s car and ramming it at others, one of whom he also stabbed

By JTA and ToI Staff 26 July 2024, 2:21 pm

Edit

Dion Marsh, convicted of hate crimes and carjacking for an antisemitic crime spree in New Jersey, in a photo released by the Lakewood police on April 8, 2022. (Courtesy/Lakewood Township Police Department)

A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 40 years in US federal prison and five years of supervised release for a spate of attacks on Orthodox Jewish men in Lakewood in April 2022.

Dion Marsh, 29, pleaded guilty before US District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi in February to five counts of hate crimes and one count of carjacking. He admitted to “willfully causing bodily injury to five victims, and attempting to kill and cause injuries with dangerous weapons to four of them, all because they were Jewish,” said a statement from the US Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey.

In January, Marsh also pleaded guilty to one state charge of terrorism.

Lakewood is a fast-growing city in central New Jersey with a large ultra-Orthodox population, and is home to Beth Medrash Govoha, the largest yeshiva outside of Israel.

“These victims were targeted by Marsh because of the way they were dressed, which is in accordance with their religious beliefs,” James E Dennehy, an FBI special agent in charge in Newark, said in a statement Tuesday. “They have that right in this country.”

Marsh’s rampage started at 1:18 p.m. on Friday, April 8, 2022, when Marsh forced an identifiably Jewish man out of his car, assaulting and injuring him, and driving off in the vehicle.

A Hasidic man walks by a police car in a Jewish Orthodox neighborhood in Brooklyn, April 24, 2017. (Photo Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images via JTA)

At 6:06 p.m. on the same day, Marsh rammed another Orthodox Jewish man while driving a different vehicle. He was attempting to kill the victim and broke several of his bones, prosecutors said.

At 6:55 p.m., driving the stolen vehicle, Marsh rammed another Orthodox Jewish man, then got out of the vehicle and stabbed the victim in the chest with a knife, prosecutors said.

At 8:23 p.m., during Shabbat, Marsh rammed another Orthodox Jewish man in the nearby Jackson Township, attempting to kill him and causing several broken bones and internal injuries.

Law enforcement arrested Marsh at his home that night.

The Secure Community Network, a national Jewish security organization, applauded the efforts of law enforcement agencies to pursue the case, as well as the sentence.

“Jewish people in the United States should not have to fear for their safety simply for living their faith proudly in public,” SCN said in a statement.

“By imposing a strong sentence, our justice system sends a clear message that hate crimes against the Jewish community will not be tolerated, and that the United States government is making it a priority to ensure our community feels safe engaging in daily life,” the statement added.