A Texas teen who was arrested in connection with one incident among a string of antisemitic attacks faces federal charges, according to a new criminal complaint affidavit. The 18-year-old Texas State Guard member was arrested for suspicion of arson on Nov. 10 after allegedly burning down the exterior of the Congregation Beth Israel on Halloween.
The teen, identified as Franklin Barrett Sechriest, was seen on security camera footage, enabling investigators to identify him. While the damage was contained to the exterior of the building and the fire was quickly extinguished, damages totaled around $25,000. Luckily, no one was in the building at the time or was harmed, The New York Times reported.
Sechriest’s new federal charges follow a state charge of arson in state district court in Travis County. According to the Austin American-Statesman, he was transferred to federal custody from the Travis County jail Monday after being held on $100,000 bail on local arson charges. A motion for detention has also been filed for Sechriest to be held without bond, given the federal charges.
According to the new affidavit, officials “determined that the fire was intentionally set and thus an act of arson.” When approaching the building prior to the fire, Sechriest was recorded carrying a container similar to a fuel jug alongside a roll of toilet paper.
Moments after a fire is visible on the video, he is seen jogging back into his vehicle. After FBI officials executed a search warrant and found clothes similar to what the person in the video was wearing, Sechriest was arrested, NBC News reported.
The Texas Military Department and Texas State University denounced Sechriest’s alleged actions in statements released this week.
“Our university decries this hateful act of bigotry and violence and all the antisemitic events perpetrated recently in Austin, San Antonio, and San Marcos,” the university said. “The Texas State University community stands in solidarity with our Jewish students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members who have been impacted.”
During their search, agents also found credit card statements that indicated he purchased a 5-gallon VP Racing Fuel utility jug on Sept. 6, according to the affidavit. Additional investigations of his car also found supplies to start a fire.
While the crime has not yet been declared a hate crime, investigators found hateful rhetoric in Sechriest’s car. “They hate your ancestors, they hate your culture, they hate your nation, they hate your religion … it’s okay to hate them back,” a sticker in his car read, according to authorities. Another sticker displayed swastikas with the slogan: “Would you kill them all to see your rights? The price of freedom is paid in blood.”
But that’s not all. Investigators also found a journal that belonged to the teen in which he wrote “scout a target” on Oct. 28, three days before the fire. The day of the fire he admitted his crime in a journal entry that said: “I set a synagogue on fire,” according to the affidavit.
If convicted, Sechriest faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. “Arson at a sacred place of worship shakes the very foundations of our society,” U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas said in a press release. “This Office strongly condemns the intentional act of violence alleged in the complaint and will vigorously prosecute this type of conduct to the fullest extent possible.”
Rabbi Steven Folberg, senior rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel, told KEYE that Sechriest’s arrest was reassuring.
“There’s a certain amount of relief for people in the Jewish community that someone who is accused of perpetrating such a violent and bigoted act is in custody,” he said. “I think that a lot of people imagine that someone who would do something like this would be well into adulthood, but he’s just a college freshman and so that raises all kinds of questions about how you end up in the kind of state of mind that you have to be in to do something like this.”
Folberg also noted the support of the community during this time and the number of donations the temple received for repairs.
“People at their best respond to tragedy and hate with love and goodness and we’re seeing a lot of that,” Folberg said.
The arson charge follows multiple incidents of hate occurring towards the Jewish community in Texas. Within a span of 10 days, between October to November, the Anti-Defamation League in Austin found that at least 17 antisemitic incidents were reported in Texas.
Local officials and community advocates have condemned the acts and called for better accountability.
“When we see acts of hate, they’re jarring. They’re hurtful, and they are scary. But they are not surprising,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “Because there are people who do hateful and horrible, wrongful things.”
At this time, Sechriest does not face any hate crime charges. However, the FBI agent who wrote the affidavit allegedly specializes in cases related to hate crimes, KXAN reported.
“The FBI has to make some kind of determination internally to see if this is an allegation that can be proven or rather this was a random circumstance,” Charlie Baird, a retired Austin judge, told KXAN.
He added that: “It is very rare for an individual to be charged with a hate crime against a structure versus a hate crime against an individual.”
The teen, identified as Franklin Barrett Sechriest, was seen on security camera footage, enabling investigators to identify him. While the damage was contained to the exterior of the building and the fire was quickly extinguished, damages totaled around $25,000. Luckily, no one was in the building at the time or was harmed, The New York Times reported.
Sechriest’s new federal charges follow a state charge of arson in state district court in Travis County. According to the Austin American-Statesman, he was transferred to federal custody from the Travis County jail Monday after being held on $100,000 bail on local arson charges. A motion for detention has also been filed for Sechriest to be held without bond, given the federal charges.
According to the new affidavit, officials “determined that the fire was intentionally set and thus an act of arson.” When approaching the building prior to the fire, Sechriest was recorded carrying a container similar to a fuel jug alongside a roll of toilet paper.
Moments after a fire is visible on the video, he is seen jogging back into his vehicle. After FBI officials executed a search warrant and found clothes similar to what the person in the video was wearing, Sechriest was arrested, NBC News reported.
The Texas Military Department and Texas State University denounced Sechriest’s alleged actions in statements released this week.
“Our university decries this hateful act of bigotry and violence and all the antisemitic events perpetrated recently in Austin, San Antonio, and San Marcos,” the university said. “The Texas State University community stands in solidarity with our Jewish students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members who have been impacted.”
During their search, agents also found credit card statements that indicated he purchased a 5-gallon VP Racing Fuel utility jug on Sept. 6, according to the affidavit. Additional investigations of his car also found supplies to start a fire.
While the crime has not yet been declared a hate crime, investigators found hateful rhetoric in Sechriest’s car. “They hate your ancestors, they hate your culture, they hate your nation, they hate your religion … it’s okay to hate them back,” a sticker in his car read, according to authorities. Another sticker displayed swastikas with the slogan: “Would you kill them all to see your rights? The price of freedom is paid in blood.”
But that’s not all. Investigators also found a journal that belonged to the teen in which he wrote “scout a target” on Oct. 28, three days before the fire. The day of the fire he admitted his crime in a journal entry that said: “I set a synagogue on fire,” according to the affidavit.
If convicted, Sechriest faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. “Arson at a sacred place of worship shakes the very foundations of our society,” U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas said in a press release. “This Office strongly condemns the intentional act of violence alleged in the complaint and will vigorously prosecute this type of conduct to the fullest extent possible.”
Rabbi Steven Folberg, senior rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel, told KEYE that Sechriest’s arrest was reassuring.
“There’s a certain amount of relief for people in the Jewish community that someone who is accused of perpetrating such a violent and bigoted act is in custody,” he said. “I think that a lot of people imagine that someone who would do something like this would be well into adulthood, but he’s just a college freshman and so that raises all kinds of questions about how you end up in the kind of state of mind that you have to be in to do something like this.”
Folberg also noted the support of the community during this time and the number of donations the temple received for repairs.
“People at their best respond to tragedy and hate with love and goodness and we’re seeing a lot of that,” Folberg said.
The arson charge follows multiple incidents of hate occurring towards the Jewish community in Texas. Within a span of 10 days, between October to November, the Anti-Defamation League in Austin found that at least 17 antisemitic incidents were reported in Texas.
Local officials and community advocates have condemned the acts and called for better accountability.
“When we see acts of hate, they’re jarring. They’re hurtful, and they are scary. But they are not surprising,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “Because there are people who do hateful and horrible, wrongful things.”
At this time, Sechriest does not face any hate crime charges. However, the FBI agent who wrote the affidavit allegedly specializes in cases related to hate crimes, KXAN reported.
“The FBI has to make some kind of determination internally to see if this is an allegation that can be proven or rather this was a random circumstance,” Charlie Baird, a retired Austin judge, told KXAN.
He added that: “It is very rare for an individual to be charged with a hate crime against a structure versus a hate crime against an individual.”