A Massachusetts man tried to blow up a Jewish nursing home with a five-gallon gas canister stuffed with a Christian pamphlet, federal prosecutors allege.
John Michael Rathbun, 36, was arrested Wednesday on attempted arson charges in connection with a homemade incendiary device found outside Ruth’s House, a Jewish-sponsored assisted living facility for people of all faiths in Longmeadow, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced.
“In times of national crisis, hatred based on religion often blossoms into violence,” US Attorney Andrew Lelling said. “The charges in this case allege that the defendant tried to blow up Jewish assisted living residence with a five gallon gas canister, at the same time that the facility was being discussed on white supremacist online platforms.”
The plastic gas container, filled with liquid believed to be gasoline and a burnt Christian religious pamphlet in its nozzle, was found outside the facility by cops April 2.
Six days later, bloodstains on the canister and pamphlet were linked to Rathbun’s DNA, prosecutors said.
The homemade device was found within feet of a pedestrian walkway and about 50 yards from the nursing home, which is also located within a mile of several other Jewish facilities, including three temples, federal authorities said.
Investigators also found anonymous postings on social media platforms promoting white supremacy and calls for mass killings, including at “that jew nursing home in longmeadow massachusetts,” according to a criminal complaint.
The user also declared that April 3 — one day after Rathbun allegedly placed the homemade device — was “jew killing day,” prosecutors allege.
Rathbun, who initially denied the allegations, switched his story when investigators told him they tracked him down using his DNA, which had been stored in a federal database following arrests in 2011 for breaking and entering and receiving stolen property, NBC News reports.
“[Rathbun’s] demeanor visibly changed, and a short while later, he stated that he did not know what he was going to do and that he wanted to cry,” the complaint reads.
The accusations facing Rathbun represent an “act of terror,” said cosmetics tycoon Ronald Lauder, who launched a website this week to track coronavirus-fueled hate crimes.
“It’s time for Massachusetts law to treat these hateful acts as such,” Lauder said in a statement to The Post. “Let this be a call to action. We need to fortify the criminal law in Massachusetts, following New York’s lead, to deter these acts of hate and punish the perpetrators. I intend to personally push for harsh new measures.”