Three Teens Arrested For Smashing Menorah

Three high school students were arrested Friday for smashing a Jewish family’s menorah - a crime that prompted Christian neighbors to put Hanukkah candles in their windows in a show of support.

Richard Daniel Hudson, 18, and two 17-year-olds used baseball bats to shatter the Markovitz family’s front window early Sunday, then threw the electric menorah to the ground, breaking all nine bulbs, authorities said.

Authorities did not release the names of the two juveniles, but said all three are students at nearby Council Rock High School.

“They didn’t seem to be part of an organized group, like Aryan Nation,” said District Attorney Alan Rubenstein. But “they admitted to being aware of the religious significance,” he added.

The three suspects were charged with ethnic intimidation, vandalism and lesser charges. The arrests came after one suspect bragged to classmates, one of whom tipped off police, authorities said.