Man Who Drew Swastika Outside UES Synagogue Is Arrested: Police

Upper East Side NY

19 March, 2021

11:13 AM

Description

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A Harlem man was arrested Thursday, accused of drawing a swastika in the snow outside an Upper East Side synagogue last month. Manuel Barrera, 50, faces charges of aggravated harassment for the Feb. 2 incident at Temple Emanu-El on East 65th Street, which was captured on video. Surveillance video showed the man, now identified as Barrera, walking up to the synagogue's doors around 8:19 a.m., then descending the steps, bending down and using his finger to carve the symbol into the fresh snow. He then kept walking north on Fifth Avenue, police said.