- Franklin Sechriest, 19, from San Marcos, Texas, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $470,000 in restitution for a hate crime and arson targeting the Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Austin.
- Sechriest pleaded guilty to hate crime and arson charges, admitting that he targeted the synagogue due to his hatred of Jews. His journals, recovered by authorities, contained virulent antisemitic statements and talk about joining a neo-Völkisch hate group, and he possessed antisemitic decals and stickers.
- Three days before the arson, Sechriest scouted the synagogue’s parking lot, and on the night of the incident, he was captured on surveillance video carrying materials toward the sanctuary. He set fire to the synagogue, and his journal entries documented the act and his monitoring of media reports about the investigation. Read More
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