A White Plains, New York, man was arrested for allegedly sending and anti-Semitic-laced email to the Greenburgh town supervisor.
Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner had been pushing to remove a monument to Confederate soldiers in a private cemetery on the town. At the beginning of the month, he backed off his request to remove the monument in Mount Hope Cemetery, saying he had come to view it as a symbol of reconciliation rather than of the Confederacy or white supremacy, according to a report by the Journal News.
Timothy Goetz sent the hate mail last month prior to Feiner’s walk-back.
Goetz was arrested on Wednesday charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime, a felony.
“While we respect everyone’s right to free speech, this was clearly a case where that line was crossed,” Greenburgh Police Chief Chris McNerney said in a statement. “We want to send a message that such hate filled threats will be fully investigated and those responsible will be brought to justice.”