James McDonald, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has asked a judge to detain Larry Montes, who allegedly assaulted a congregant at Central Synagogue in New York, pending trial.
Montes was arrested and charged with hate crimes for the Friday-night attack during services at the Manhattan synagogue on Aug. 14. Bail was set for $10,000.
According to McDonald, Montes was held in state custody after his arrest and transferred to federal custody on Aug. 23.
In a letter written the same day to Judge Robert W. Lehrburger, McDonald noted that Montes stated, while being arrested, “that he planned to return to the synagogue at a later date.”
Montes “poses a continued threat to the synagogue and its congregants,” the U.S. attorney wrote.
He said Montes has “prior convictions and arrests involving violent or threatening conduct.” Those include theft on July 4, 2023, when he displayed a knife; theft and assault charges on July 16, 2019, during which he punched someone “with a closed fist multiple times on the head"; and an assault in New Jersey on May 23, 2019.
The New Jersey case “appears to be pending, and a bench warrant was issued for the defendant in approximately 2021,” according to McDonald.
“The defendant’s actions on the night of Aug. 14 and his statements to law enforcement after his arrest demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a danger of physically harming others, including those he perceives as Jewish or black,” he wrote. “His vitriolic statements during his post-arrest make clear that his animosity toward Jews is deep-seated.”
