A Colorado man has been indicted on hate crime charges after drawing swastikas and writing racial slurs in public spaces in New York City, including the Charging Bull statue, prosecutors said Wednesday.
James Ryan, 40, of Limon, Colorado, is charged with drawing a swastika on city hall doors and an anti-black slur on a pillar December 13, 2021, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg saying.
The next day, Ryan allegedly spray-painted a large swastika and wrote another anti-black slur outside a CVS pharmacy on Fulton Street in the Financial District. Hours later, he allegedly painted the same symbol on the charging bull statue on Wall Street.
He was arrested on December 16, 2021, according to a spokesman for Bragg’s office.
“Hate has no place in New York City and these offensive and harmful actions will not be tolerated,” Bragg said in a statement. «As alleged, James Ryan placed hate emblems on a city building and one of Manhattan’s most iconic symbols, the Charging Bull of Wall Street.»
Ryan was charged with three counts of criminal conduct as a hate crime and three counts of aggravated harassment. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
Bragg said his office currently has 20 open hate crime cases involving anti-Semitic crimes.
“My office is a safe place to report crimes regardless of your immigration status,” he said in his statement.