Oakland County prosecutors have charged 54-year-old Toby Jacob Rhodes with a hate crime after what they describe as a chilling confrontation outside his Southfield home on March 31, when he allegedly hurled violent antisemitic threats at his Jewish neighbors and their children while filming them. The case has been sent on to the court system for review.
Allegations from the March 31 encounter
According to court filings, Rhodes is accused of recording video of his neighbor’s three children as they played outside and shouting slurs that included “All Jews are murderers,” “Always playing victim,” “Kill the Jews,” and “Kill you.” Prosecutors say he also tried to block one child from riding a scooter along the sidewalk. Those details are laid out in court records reported by ClickOnDetroit.
Prosecutor's response and charge details
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald has publicly condemned the alleged behavior as “especially abhorrent” when directed at children and said it appeared intended to terrorize the family because of their faith, according to New Media Detroit. Prosecutors say the hate-crime charge carries a potential sentence of up to two years behind bars and a $5,000 fine if Rhodes is convicted.
Separate 2025 charges
This is not the only criminal case Rhodes is dealing with. He is already facing separate counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and ethnic intimidation linked to an alleged incident on May 18, 2025, according to the prosecutor’s office. Those earlier charges and the possible penalties were laid out in a county press release from last year by the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office.
Local context
Officials say the new case lands in the middle of a troubling run of antisemitic incidents in Oakland County this spring. Among them: arrests in Sterling Heights after swastikas and other hateful symbols were spray-painted in several spots, and separate charges tied to antisemitic graffiti at an Oak Park synagogue. Those cases have prompted stepped-up coordination between law enforcement and local faith leaders, according to reporting from CBS Detroit.
What's next
A pretrial hearing in the previously filed assault and ethnic-intimidation case is set for June 2 in Oakland County Circuit Court, according to local reporting. Prosecutors have emphasized that the current hate-crime case remains at the charging stage and that Rhodes, like any defendant, is presumed innocent until proven guilty, a point underscored in public materials from the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office.
