New Jersey man sentenced to 7 years in prison for arson and anti-Semitic graffiti attacks

Authorities say a New Jersey man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for setting fire to four houses and spraying anti-Semitic graffiti on 14 others in Toms River, a city with a large Jewish population, last year.

Ocean County prosecutors said Ron Carr, 35, of Manchester, New Jersey, was convicted of arson, self-serving intimidation and criminal damage, among other charges.

The district attorney's office said in a statement that in June 2023, community police were called to the Pine Lake Park area and found 14 homes daubed with Nazi symbols. The next day, firefighters were called to a fire that severely damaged one home and damaged three others.

During questioning, Carr made numerous anti-Semitic statements. Among other things, he told police that he would “save the neighborhood” and that he believed the house he had set on fire would become a school or a “prayer land,” according to the investigators' affidavit.

His lawyer Shane Pao told the media that he hopes his client “gets the help he needs.”

Local media reported that the crimes occurred amid legal disputes and a regional conflict over the locations of ultra-Orthodox synagogues and schools in the Ocean District, where many ultra-Orthodox families have moved in recent years.