Having pled “true” to allegations of plotting to shoot up an Ohio synagogue, a 13-year-old boy was sentenced — to write a book report.

(Video: WKYC-TV)

Ahead of a pre-trial hearing that had been scheduled for Wednesday, Stark County Family Court Judge Jim James issued a sentence to a young teen said to have planned and published an attack on Temple Israel synagogue in Canton, Ohio. Having pled “true,” the juvenile equivalent to a guilty plea, the teen, whose identity remained undisclosed, saw the worst of his sentence wiped clear by James.

WKYC-TV reported that the boy had faced a 90-day sentence at the Multi-County Juvenile Attention Center for the misdemeanor counts of inducing panic and disorderly conduct. Instead, the judge ruled that the 13-year-old would be granted a year of probation so long as conditions were met including no unsupervised internet use, counseling with a licensed therapist, and reading. He will then produce a book report on Swiss diplomat Carl Lutz, credited with saving more than 62,000 Jews during World War II.

The charging documents asserted, “[Redacted] did create a detailed plan to complete a mass shooting at the Temple Israel on the Discord platform which was reported to law enforcement and required an immediate investigatory response and notification of public individuals and agencies including the school system in which cause significant public alarm within those agencies.”

A statement released to the media from Stark County Sheriff George Meier said in part, “We stand by a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to threats made against our community. Every threat is investigated thoroughly with the seriousness it deserves. We work diligently to ensure that those responsible are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

As it happened, the boy’s arrest had pre-dated the Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel and a marked rise in antisemitism in the United States and abroad.

“We don’t have a rash of 12- and 13- and 14-year-olds who all of a sudden have a massive amount of hate for one group of people,” Cleveland Anti-Defamation League executive director Kelly Fishman told WKYC-TV. “They have bought into a rhetoric that makes it seem like it’s the right choice.”

“I think that it will help us get some more perspective if we do step back to social media and give us an opportunity to really try to understand what’s the mis- or disinformation that’s out there,” continued Fishman. “[Such as,] ‘How do I fact check these sources to make sure that I’ve got a real understanding and a broad array of perspectives of what’s being presented online?'”

Amidst Ivy League and other college campus controversies, the ADL had noted in only a few short weeks following Hamas’ attack on Israel there had been a spike of 388% in incidents of harassment, assault, and vandalism connected to antisemitism.

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Kevin Haggerty

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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