On Tuesday, a man threw a Molotov cocktail into the Temple Ner Tamid synagogue in Bloomfield, New Jersey. The synagogue includes a pre-school and a K-12 religious school.
Surveillance footage shows a man masked by a ski mask approaching the synagogue with an incendiary device, lighting it and then throwing it into the building before escaping.
Prejudicial incident: Attempted arson pic.twitter.com/9jrenF6USm
— Bloomfield Division of Public Safety (@BlfdPublicSafe) January 29, 2023
The accused was arrested on Wednesday and produced before the court on Thursday.
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CBS New York reports:
Nicholas Malindretos was in federal court after his arrest Wednesday in Clifton. He is accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a synagogue in Bloomfield. Prosecutors revealed that not only did they reveal the clothes they saw on surveillance, but other evidence as well.
Inside the courtroom, the public defender representing the 26-year-old suspect offered a glimpse of what we can expect from his defense, arguing that Malindretos suffers from an undiagnosed mental health disorder.
Meanwhile, the United States District Attorney’s office says they were able to make an arrest after discovering multiple items on surveillance.
“The car was searched and a mask, gloves and a sweatshirt consistent with the attack on the video were recovered,” said Philip Sellinger, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.