Man arrested for allegedly vandalizing menorah with a Nazi symbol in California

A man was arrested after he allegedly vandalized a menorah in California and carved a Nazi symbol into its base, the Beverly Hills Police Department said in a news release.

Police responded to a private property in Beverly Hills at 8 p.m. PT Sunday after reports of a “suspect defacing a menorah,” the release said. After taking a man in custody, police said that surveillance video depicted the suspect “throwing objects at a Menorah” and carving Nazi symbols into the menorah’s base.

It’s the latest antisemitic incident to make headlines in recent months.

In the Beverly Hill vandalism incident, Eric Brian King from Dallas, Texas, was charged with felony vandalism and a hate crime, police said. He is being held in the custody of the Beverly Hills Police Department on a $20,000 bail, according to online records.

CNN is working to identify an attorney for King.

“A despicable act such as this will never be tolerated in our City,” Police Chief Mark G. Stainbrook said in a statement.

Recent string of antisemitic actions, statements

In November, police and federal authorities thwarted a potential attack on a New York area synagogue, arresting two men in connection with online threats.

Earlier in December, police in New York arrested a man accused of firing a BB gun at a Jewish father and son who were grocery shopping.

Also this month, rapper Kanye West, now legally known as Ye, was suspended from Twitter after he tweeted an image of the Star of David with a swastika inside. The tweet came the same day he expressed his love for Adolf Hitler. Former President Donald Trump had hosted West along with White nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago estate in November.

Earlier in the fall, NBA player Kyrie Irving was suspended by the Brooklyn Nets after posting a Twitter link to a documentary containing antisemitic messages. He initially refused to issue an apology.