Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on April 22, 2020

SPRINGFIELD - A man accused of attempting to bomb a Jewish nursing facility was ordered back to jail by a federal judge on Friday, following his release on bail just two days earlier.

John Michael Rathbun, of Lori Lane in East Longmeadow, was arrested on April 15 after FBI agents searched his home for evidence related to a makeshift firebomb placed outside the entrance of Ruths House in Longmeadow.

He was charged with two arson-related counts and faces up to 20 years in prison.

A large container filled with five gallons of gasoline, stuffed with a Christian church pamphlet and set on fire was discovered outside the facility around 10 a.m. on April 2, according to court records.

The homemade bomb flamed out before it caused any injuries, police have said.

The alleged arson attempt seemed one of thousands of recorded hate crimes cropping up across the U.S. each year -- a large number targeting Jews, watchdogs have said.

Rathbun, 36, is an admitted, longtime drug user and petty criminal. He was released by U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine Robertson to home confinement on April 15, the same day he was arrested.

Prosecutors who believe Rathbun is linked to white supremacy groups appealed the ruling.

The defendants freedom proved fleeting. He was remanded to the U.S. Marshals Service and went back to jail by late Friday afternoon.

The defendant not only built the device, he deployed it at an extremely vulnerable place, at an extremely vulnerable time, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow argued during a hearing on Friday afternoon, referring to the persisting plight of the elderly during the COVD-19 pandemic.

Rathbun was ordered back behind bars pending trial by U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni. The judge ruled Rathbun was too unstable to remain at his parents home with scant supervision in the coronavirus criminal justice world where electronic monitoring is essentially not possible.

Ruths House, a picturesque campus set back from Converse Street, offers 68 assisted living apartments for seniors. The facility is managed by JGS Lifecare, a nonprofit organization dedicated to caring for Jewish elders and those of all faiths, according to its website.

Breslow argued the would-be firebomb potentially placed many in danger, targeting Jewish seniors during the coronavirus crisis, when they and all nursing home residents are already in peril.

Rathbun has denied the allegations and any affiliations with anti-Semitic or white supremacy groups.

Had the device ignited, it may have sparked an inferno at a well-traveled spot in the Western Massachusetts bedroom community -- where pedestrians, joggers, parents pushing strollers and staff heading in and out of the campus are plentiful, Breslow said.

A private Jewish elementary school, three synagogues and a Jewish community center also sit in close proximity. Rathbuns family home in the neighboring town is less than two miles away, the prosecutor said. Rathbun admitted traveling by there each day to go to a methadone clinic to mitigate his heroin addiction.

According to court records, Longmeadow police discovered a sturdy plastic container filled with five gallons of gasoline, and a charred Christian church pamphlet jammed in its spout around 10 on that April morning.

The DNA profile of Rathbun -- a previously convicted felon whose DNA had already been logged into law enforcement databases -- was discovered on both the container and the leaflet, FBI agents said. The items were speckled with blood and Rathbun had fresh wounds on his hands when his house was raided at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, court records show.

He was charged with two arson-related offenses and federal prosecutors have characterized the incident as a hate crime. An online war had been waged against the Jewish geriatric care campus by anonymous white supremacists, FBI agents have said.

An online user logged into a white supremacy chatroom in March and invited others to target that jew nursing home in longmeadow (sic) massachusetts in addition to deeming April 3 jew killing day, according to an FBI affidavit filed in connection with the case.

Another post from the same apparent user read F--- JEWS, according to court records.

An Illinois synagogue also was cited as a possible target in the same chatroom, Breslow said.

The FBI and the Anti-Defamation League indicate Jews were the most targeted for hate crimes among religion-based groups in 2018, a consistent statistic since 1991. Nearly 60 percent of hate crimes were leveled at Jews, the organizations reported.

Leaders of Ruths House and JGS submitted letters to the court saying the April 2 incident -- which occurred six days before Passover -- placed residents and staff in fear.

Our staffs, already under tremendous mental stress, now fear for their lives as they come to work. Our residents, already fighting for their lives against COVID-19, now are in fear of their lives from a man filled with hate with the audacity to take action to kill because of that hate, and others like him, said a JGS director, in court filings.

Rathbuns attorney, Timothy Watkins, argued that agents found no evidence of white supremacy propaganda at his clients home or in his car while executing search warrants.

This court has had its share of fringe defendants. These are not people who keep quiet about it ... There is absolutely zero evidence of this at his house or in the cars, Watkins said.

Agents discovered gasoline containers at Rathbuns home, where he lives with his parents and daughter. But, Watkins said they were intended for a lawnmower and a leaf blower the family kept in a shed.

Rathbun has a history of OUIs, breaking and entering offenses, receiving stolen property, restraining orders and violations of those, Breslow said.

Rathbun was on probation for violating a restraining order last year when the Wednesday arrest occurred, and a brand new arrest warrant issued out of Palmer District Court for while the federal court hearing was literally midstream on Friday, Breslow said.

So, Rathbun was going to be held by state court officials if not by the federal system.

While Watkins argued there was little to no evidence his client was part of a white supremacy hatred group and the governments evidence was thin on that point, Mastroianni seemed intent on detention.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Katheriene Robertson on Wednesday appeared heavily focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and keeping pretrial defendants out of jails where they could be exposed to the disease. But Breslow argued there were no cases among Hampden County inmates.

I find it ironic ... if not terribly disturbing that the defendant would particularly target a nursing home, of whatever faith, already under siege from this pandemic and then seek shelter, and argue the COVID-19 pandemic should keep him out of jail, Breslow said.

He added that there were no cases of COVID-19 among inmates at the Hamdpen County House of Corrections.

Watkins countered that there were nine cases among staff who had contracted the virus.

Make no mistake-- this is a pandemic, and its only a matter of time, Watkins said.

Mastroianni reversed Robertsons earlier ruling. Rathbun will remain behind bars.

"I find easily that Mr. Rathbun is a danger to the community through clear and convincing evidence, " the judge said.

He was led away in handcuffs.

Read more:
East Longmeadow man accused of trying to firebomb Jewish nursing home ordered back to jail - MassLive.com

Category: Anti-Defamation League
Tags: