A man is charged with hate crimes after damaging the Islamic Center at Rutgers University

Federal authorities said on Monday that a man who is suspected of damaging an Islamic center at the prestigious institution in New Jersey during the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr has been charged with hate crimes.

The 24-year-old North Plainfield resident Jacob Beacher is charged with one count each of making false statements to federal authorities and intentionally obstructing a religious practice. His first court appearance was set on Monday afternoon. The federal public defender’s office, which does not comment on cases, was handling his legal representation.

The allegations are related to a break-in at Rutgers University’s Center for Islamic Life in New Brunswick on April 10. According to the prosecution, Beacher destroyed a number of religious artifacts and many other objects that included passages from the Quran, the holy book of Islam. Authorities claim that Beacher also took a donation box from the center and a Palestinian flag.

An estimate of the total damage is $40,000. According to the authorities, Beacher is not connected to Rutgers.

Around 2:40 a.m., the premises was empty when the break-in happened, according to the prosecution. The motivation is not known.

Beacher denied breaking into the property but acknowledged being the individual spotted close to the center on video security footage when he spoke with the FBI two days after the break-in.

The event happened a few weeks after prejudice incidents in New Jersey had been reported to have increased recently by the state attorney general’s office.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ branch in New Jersey praised the accusations and said that the graffiti is an instance of the “bigoted violence” that Muslim, Palestinian, and associated students encounter on American college campuses.

Following the break-in, representatives of the Islamic center expressed their gratitude to the Rutgers community and the larger community, saying they were “humbled by the amazing and generous outpouring.”