{"id":322115,"date":"2026-08-15T15:50:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T15:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/322115\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T15:50:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T15:50:26","slug":"man-who-disrupted-nyc-synagogue-service-attacking-two-arrested-on-hate-crime-charges-nypd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/322115\/","title":{"rendered":"Man who disrupted NYC synagogue service, attacking two, arrested on hate crime charges: NYPD"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police have filed hate crime charges against a 46-year-old man who attacked two people at a Midtown synagogue as he charged down the aisle, disrupting the sanctity of a peaceful Shabbat service<\/a>, officials said Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know who I am?\u201d Larry Montes ranted as he punched a 63-year-old woman and headbutted a 65-year-old security guard as he was being escorted out of Central Synagogue<\/a> on Lexington Ave. at E. 55th St. Friday evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody here is real!\u201d he screamed, witnesses told police.<\/p>\n

During his caught-on-camera tirade<\/a>, Montes also damaged synagogue property, including an ornate Shabbat candle holder valued at $20,000, officials said.<\/p>\n

Cops charged him with hate crime assault, assault, criminal mischief as a hate crime, disruption of a religious service, harassment, and aggravated harassment, cops said. His arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending Saturday.<\/p>\n

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called Montes\u2019 attack \u201cdeeply painful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA place of worship should never be a crime scene,\u201d Tisch said on X. \u201cI understand the sanctity of this space and its meaning for congregants.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCentral Synagogue is where I grew up,\u201d she said. \u201cIn joy and in sorrow, it has always been a place of comfort and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PolicePolice have filed hate crime charges against Larry Montes, who allegedly attacked two people at Central Synagogue on Lexington Ave. (Central Synagogue)<\/p>\n

Montes, who was sitting with the congregation, stormed the front of the synagogue at about 6:10 p.m. as a pair of worshippers were in the middle of a musical performance.<\/p>\n

A livestream of Shabbat service<\/a> shows a burly Montes, wearing a blue polo shirt and glasses and sporting a beard, storming up the synagogue\u2019s central aisle in a rage toward the bimah, or raised platform where rabbis read the Torah.<\/p>\n

The two women performing a song flee to safety as Montes reaches the bimah, spins around and marches back down the aisle, this time escorted from behind by a security guard, while furiously pounding the air with his fist and ranting.<\/p>\n

Montes lives in Mott Haven in the Bronx, more than six miles from the synagogue. It wasn\u2019t immediately clear why he was visiting that particular house of worship.<\/p>\n

He had been arrested three times for robbery in 2023 and 2019 before Friday\u2019s arrest, police said.<\/p>\n

\"NYPDNYPD vehicles are pictured outside Central Synagogue on Lexington Ave. in Manhattan on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Congregants at the Midtown synagogue didn\u2019t let the violence stop them from finishing the Shabbat service, according to Central Synagogue\u2019s senior rabbi.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a testament to the strength of our community that services resumed immediately, and we refused to let this disruption extinguish the spirit of Shabbat,\u201d Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Jon May and Marcia Caban, the temple\u2019s respective president and executive director, wrote in an email to congregants.<\/p>\n

Mayor Mamdani said he was \u201chorrified\u201d<\/a> to learn of the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery New Yorker must be able to observe their religion without fear of violence,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cThis despicable act has no place in our city, and our administration will do everything in our power to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NYPDNYPD vehicles are pictured outside Central Synagogue on Lexington Ave. in Manhattan on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Governor Hochul called the incident \u201cappalling\u201d<\/a> and said, \u201cJewish New Yorkers have every right to worship openly, proudly, and without fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m deeply disturbed by tonight\u2019s incident at Central Synagogue, where Shabbat services were disrupted and members of the congregation and security team were assaulted,\u201d City Council Speaker Julie Menin posted<\/a>. \u201cIncidents like this are painful and traumatizing for so many, and only deepen the fear many are already feeling. Every New Yorker has the right to worship in peace and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAntisemitism is real and it\u2019s increasing by the day,\u201d Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) added as he thanked the NYPD for the quick arrest. \u201cNo American, regardless of their religion, should feel unsafe in a house of worship. We must come together to ensure that no space is left for these types of antisemitic beliefs or acts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll New Yorkers and all Americans must be able to worship freely with no fear of danger for themselves or their families,\u201d Schumer said.<\/p>\n

With Rocco Parascandola<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Police have filed hate crime charges against a 46-year-old man who attacked two people at a Midtown synagogue…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[211,88831,15582,5302,75,9,24,55,54,56,103,121304],"class_list":["post-322115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-assault","tag-central-synagogue","tag-hate-crime","tag-jessica-tisch","tag-manhattan","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-nypd","tag-shabbat-service"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}