Austin officials arrested an 18-year-old man suspected of setting a fire inside a local synagogue on Halloween.
The man, identified by the Austin Fire Department as Franklin Barrett Sechriest, was arrested Wednesday after officials responded to an Oct. 31 fire at reform Jewish temple Congregation Beth Israel that was “intentionally set and thus an act of arson,” according to an arrest warrant reviewed by the Washington Examiner.
“This offense occurred when Franklin Barrett Sechriest intentionally started a fire with intent to damage or destroy a place of assembly or worship belonging to another,” the arrest warrant states.
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Investigators reviewed surveillance footage of a young man approaching the synagogue with a five-gallon container of fuel, after which he left the site with the gas container in hand, driving away in a “dark-colored SUV,” the affidavit continues. Officials then ran the vehicle’s license plate and found it registered to Nicole Sechriest, who lives at the same address as Franklin Barrett Sechhreist, according to the document.
A spokesperson for the Austin Fire Department told the Washington Examiner said it was a joint investigation between the AFD and the FBI. The department declined to comment further due to the open nature of the investigation.
Representatives for the temple praised the arrest.
“It gives us some sense of relief to learn of this arrest, but we are staying vigilant,” Rabbi Steve Folberg said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “Across Central Texas and beyond, we are seeing a spike in attacks against Jews.”
While no one was injured, the synagogue suffered $25,000 in damages, the arrest warrant states. Beth Israel Rabbi Kelly Levi said while the “added injury of the fire to our sacred space has caused grief beyond comprehension,” Beth Israel has adapted and found ways to continue operating as usual.
The synagogue fire is the latest in a string of Central Texas incidents suspected to be tied to antisemitism. On Oct. 22, students vandalized an Austin high school with swastikas, homophobic language, and racist slurs, and a small group displayed an antisemitic banner on Oct. 23 above a local expressway that featured links to the website of the Goyim Defense League. It was deemed by Jewish nongovernmental organization Anti-Defamation League to promote “virulent antisemitism.”
“Hateful acts of intimidation to incite violence is unacceptable, and we will not be silent,” said Simone Talma Flowers, the executive director of Interfaith Action of Central Texas, at a Nov. 1. press conference in response to these incidents.
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Rates of antisemitic hate crimes have risen in recent months. The United States recorded more than 2,100 antisemitic acts of assault, vandalism, and harassment in the last year, “the highest level of antisemitic incidents since ADL’s tracking began in 1979,” according to the ADL’s most recent Audit of Antisemitic Incidents.
