A man charged with hate crime against Jewish Americans had a phone “littered” with pro-Hamas material, investigators have revealed.
Tarek Bazrouk, 20, of New York, ha charged with three hate crimes for "repeated assaults" on Jews in the city in 2024 and 2025, per an indictment unsealed on Wednesday in US District Court.
Kash Patel, the FBI director, stated that FBI agents arrested Bazrouk on Wednesday morning.
"The subject had allegedly targeted Jewish citizens during multiple protests of the Israel-Gaza war on three separate occasions over nine months," Patel said. "Based on the allegations, the subject will be charged with hate crimes."
"The recent spike in violent crime against Jewish citizens is deeply disturbing and this FBI will continue to pursue those responsible," the FBI director added.
According to court documents, Bazrouk allegedly wore a "green headband typically worn by Hamas terrorists" while attending an anti-Israel protest outside the New York Stock Exchange on April 15, 2024. New York City Police Department officers arrested him for "lunging at a group of pro-Israel protestors," the Justice Department stated.
"As Bazrouk was being escorted to an NYPD vehicle, he kicked an individual – Victim 1, a Jewish college student – in the stomach," prosecutors alleged. "At the time of the assault, Victim 1 was standing near other Jewish protesters, who were wearing kippahs... carrying Israeli flags and singing Jewish songs."
The department also alleged that Bazrouk assaulted another unnamed Jewish person on December 9, 2024 at an anti-Israel protest "next to a university campus in upper Manhattan".
The Jewish victim, who is a student at the "nearby university," and his brother were wearing kippahs that day and the second victim was "singing Jewish songs," per the department.
"As the protest continued, Bazrouk – with his mouth covered – stole an Israeli flag from Victim 2’s brother and fled," the filing went on. "After Victim 2 and his brother followed Bazrouk through a crowd to retrieve the flag, Bazrouk snuck up beside Victim 2 and struck him in the face with a closed fist."
About a month later, Bazrouk allegedly assaulted a third unnamed Jewish victim – who wore an Israeli flag over his shoulders, a hat with an Israeli flag and a Star of David chain – on January 6 this year at an anti-Israel protest in Manhattan's Gramercy Park neighborhood.
"During the protest, Bazrouk, who was wearing a keffiyeh on his face, made contact with Victim 3’s shoulder and wrapped his foot around Victim 3’s ankle," the department stated. "Victim 3 attempted to push Bazrouk away and cursed at him. Bazrouk then punched Victim 3 in the nose with a closed fist."
When law enforcement officers executed a warrant and searched Bazrouk's phone, they found evidence of his "antisemitic bias and his support for anti-Jewish terrorist groups, including Hamas," which demonstrated "his motivation for repeatedly assaulting Jewish victims," the Justice Department said.
That included self-identifying as a "Jew-hater," calling Jews "worthless" and asking "Allah" to "get us rid" of Jews. He also directed expletives at Jews and told a friend that he was "mad happy" to learn that relatives overseas were members of Hamas, per the Justice Department.
"Bazrouk's phone was also littered with pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah propaganda, showing his support for organisations that have murdered thousands of Jews and Israelis," it added.
Bazrouk was arrested after each incident, but he "allegedly remained undeterred and quickly returned to using violence to target Jews in New York City," stated Jay Clayton, US attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Bazrouk faces up to 30 years in prison for the three charges, per the Justice Department.
The department's civil rights division "will continue to relentlessly pursue allegations of antisemitic violence and will not stop until justice is served for the victims and their families," said Harmeet Dhillon, the US’ assistant attorney general for civil rights.
