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New Jersey man pleads guilty to threatening to use baseball bat to attack Jews

Anthony Lodespoto will be sentenced on September 25 after pleading guilty to “bias intimidation.”

By The Algemeiner

A New Jersey man pled guilty on Monday to threatening to attack members of a local Jewish community, NJ.com reported.

Anthony Lodespoto, 43, of Howell, New Jersey confessed to sending messages via Facebook that threatened to use a baseball bat to assault members of the Jewish community of Lakewood.

Shortly after, he sent a threatening message to Governor Phil Murphy’s Facebook account.

Police in Lakewood stated that Lodespoto claimed his motive was the Jewish community’s supposed violations of New Jersey’s coronavirus regulations on social distancing.

Lodespoto will be sentenced on September 25 after pleading guilty to “bias intimidation.”

The prosecution is seeking 180 days in jail as a condition of probation.

According to ADL’s most recent audit, there was a record total of 345 anti-Semitic incidents in New Jersey in 2019.