Suspect arrested and charged with vandalizing Rutgers Islamic center, stealing Palestinian flag during Eid al-Fitr

A suspect has been charged with a federal hate crime after allegedly breaking into and destroying property at Rutgers University’s Center for Islamic Life.

A suspect has been charged with a federal hate crime after allegedly breaking into and destroying property at Rutgers University’s Center for Islamic Life. The incident took place during Eid al-Fitr, the three-day Islamic religious celebration marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Jacob Beacher, 24, was arrested Monday morning and charged with one count of intentional or attempted obstruction of religious practice and one count of making false statements to federal authorities, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. Beacher is not affiliated with Rutgers University, according to a university spokesperson. CNN has reached out to his defense attorney for comment. Beacher broke into the Islamic center around 2:41 a.m. on April 10, the release said, where he damaged property “including several religious artifacts, such as Turbah prayer stones, which are clay stones on which Muslims prostrate during prayer, and numerous other items that contained holy language from the Qur’an, Islam’s sacred scripture.”