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Camden County man gets prison for role in vandalizing Midwestern synagogues

Richard Tobin conspired with a white supremicist hate group to vandalize synagogues in 2019.

A swastika spray-painted on the facade of Temple Jacob in Hancock, Mich. It was one of several Nazi symbols left on the building in 2019 by a man working under orders from Richard Tobin, of Brooklawn, N.J.
A swastika spray-painted on the facade of Temple Jacob in Hancock, Mich. It was one of several Nazi symbols left on the building in 2019 by a man working under orders from Richard Tobin, of Brooklawn, N.J.Read moreCourtesy photo (custom credit)

A 20-year-old Camden County man was sentenced Tuesday to a year and a day in federal prison for conspiring with a white supremacist hate group to vandalize two Midwestern synagogues in 2019, prosecutors said.

Richard Tobin, of Brooklawn, pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to violate civil rights. He was sentenced in Camden federal court by U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler, who also ordered Tobin to serve three years of supervised release.

Tobin admitted that in September 2019 he was a member of a group that called itself “the Base” and was founded by Rinaldo Nazzaro, a former North Bergen, N.J., resident and ex-Villanova philosophy student.

Prosecutors said Tobin communicated online with other members of the Base and directed them to destroy and vandalize properties affiliated with Jewish Americans and African Americans.

On Sept. 21, 2019, members of the Base vandalized synagogues in Racine, Wis., and Hancock, Mich., by spray painting them with hate symbols.

Yousef Omar Barasneh has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in federal court in Wisconsin for his role in vandalizing the synagogue in Racine, prosecutors said.

“Richard Tobin’s white supremacist beliefs are abhorrent, but his beliefs aren’t why he’s going to prison,” Jacqueline Maguire, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, said in a statement.

“He actively conspired with others to commit a crime of violence, to victimize innocent people because of who they are or how they worship. That’s what crossed a line and made it the FBI’s business. We’re always going to pursue individuals inciting violent, hateful acts meant to intimidate and isolate members of our community,” Maguire said.