A St. Louis County man is now facing charges after surveillance video captured him allegedly defacing a sign belonging to the Jewish Student Union earlier this month. The incident occurred outside the Union's building at 8037 Delmar Blvd. at approximately 11 p.m. on August 6. According to FOX 2, the footage shows the man, identified by police as Michael Burleson, tampering with the signage which originally read "We Stand with Israel," and altering it to state "We Genocide Israel."
Following the discovery of the defaced sign by Rabbi Michael Rovinsky, authorities were alerted. As noted by First Alert 4, police subsequently located Burleson and charged him with one count of harassment motivated by discrimination to frighten or disturb another person, and one count of property damage.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has taken Burleson's act, with its heinous suggestion of violence, very seriously. The explicit antisemitic nature of the defacement adds a layer of gravity to the misdemeanor counts of property damage and discriminatory harassment. These charges imply a deliberate attempt on Burleson's part to inflict distress upon the community.
Rabbi Rovinsky, confronted with the evidence of hate towards his community, did not hesitate to contact law enforcement. In a statement obtained by VIN News, the alteration of the sign was an affront to the Jewish community, seen as an inflammatory act meant to provoke and alarm. Burleson's preliminary hearing has been scheduled for September 23, where the allegations will be brought formally before a court.
