Florida prosecutors are considering whether to elevate misdemeanor charges against two German nationals accused of vandalizing a Miami Beach bench with antisemitic graffiti to a felony hate-crime offense, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office told JNS on Tuesday.
Miami Beach police responded to Lummus Park near 12th Street and Ocean Drive on Monday evening after park rangers discovered graffiti drawn on a public bench, reading, “Adolf was here” alongside a swastika.
According to police, the city’s Real Time Intelligence Center used surveillance cameras to identify and track the suspects to the Colony Hotel on Ocean Drive shortly after the incident. Investigators alleged that one man wrote the graffiti while the other shielded him from public view.
The suspects were arrested and identified as Christoph Rehak, 58, and Gunther Manfred Jekschtat, 63, both of Germany. Police said both men admitted involvement in the vandalism and were charged with criminal mischief.
“The 1st Degree Misdemeanor charge of Criminal Mischief more than $200 and less than $1000 is presently being reviewed to see if it can be enhanced to a 3rd Degree Felony under Florida’s Hate Crime Enhancement statute,” a spokesman for the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office told JNS.
