NY brothers indicted on hate crime charges for stealing, torching Israeli flag

New York brothers Cormac and Declan Banco were charged with hate crimes after they stole and burned an Israeli flag.

By World Israel News Staff

Two brothers in upstate New York have been charged with hate crimes after allegedly stealing an Israeli flag from outside a business and later burning it at their home, according to local police.

Cormac Thomas Banco, 28, and Declan Peter Banco, 31, both of Hornell, were arrested Saturday following an investigation by the Hornell Police Department into the disappearance of an Israeli flag from a flagpole outside a business on Park Drive, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Police said investigators determined that the flag had been taken to the brothers’ residence and burned.

Both men were charged with hate-crime offenses related to the alleged theft and damage to the flag, as well as an offense related to destroying evidence. Cormac Banco was additionally charged with resisting arrest.

The brothers were arrested at approximately 7:32 a.m. Saturday and later transported to the Steuben County Jail, where they were booked that evening.

Authorities have not publicly disclosed what evidence led them to classify the alleged offenses as hate crimes or identified the business from which the flag was allegedly taken.

Under New York law, a specified criminal offense can be prosecuted as a hate crime when authorities allege that a defendant selected a victim or committed the act, in whole or substantial part, because of a belief or perception concerning characteristics including national origin, ancestry or religion.

The charges come in Hornell, a city of roughly 8,000 residents in New York’s Southern Tier, about 55 miles south of Rochester and near the Pennsylvania border.

The city has previously faced another high-profile hate-crime case involving antisemitic material.

In July 2022, police arrested three people after white supremacist and antisemitic pamphlets were distributed throughout Hornell, including at the former Temple Beth-El synagogue and a predominantly black church.

The material reportedly promoted the “Aryan National Army” and featured a skull inside a swastika. Police said more than 100 pieces of propaganda were distributed at houses of worship and other locations around the city.

The three suspects in that case were each charged with 115 counts of first-degree aggravated harassment as a hate crime.

Following those arrests, then-Hornell Mayor John Buckley sought to distance the broader community from the incidents.

“These are three misguided individuals who have hate in their hearts,” Buckley said at the time. “This is something that is not reflective of Hornell.”