Independent journalist arrested for allegedly vandalizing home of Brooklyn Museum board member

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The second suspect behind an antisemitic graffiti spree that targeted the homes of Jewish members of the Brooklyn Museum’s board of directors, who is also an credentialed member of the New York City media, turned himself into police on Tuesday.

Samuel Seligson, 32, of Brooklyn surrendered at the 7th Precinct on the Lower East Side of Manhattan at around 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 6, less than a week after cops arrested his alleged accomplice.

According to the Associated Press, Seligson — identified in the report as an independent journalist — was not involved in the vandalism, and was only accused of documenting it. Police sources, however, said Seligson allegedly served as the lookout in the series of vandalism incidents targeting the Brooklyn and Manhattan homes of Jewish members of the Brooklyn Museum board, including its director, Anne Pasternak.

On June 11, outside of Pasternak’s Brooklyn Heights home, the vandals splattered red paint over the entrance and hung a sign reading, “Anne Pasternak Brooklyn Museum White Supremacist Zionist,” disturbing some who lived there. Days before the incident, protesters gathered at the Brooklyn Museum — calling on the institution to disclose and divest any connections to Israel in response to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

According to AP, Seligson’s attorney called the arrest an “appalling overreach by police against a journalist,” and said police had raided his home twice in the week before he turned himself in. Sources familiar with the investigation alleged that Seligson was not seen in possession of any camera equipment during the incidents. In April, police arrested — but quickly released — three photojournalists documenting a protest on the Brooklyn Bridge, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.

On Tuesday morning, detectives escorted Seligson out of the 7th Precinct stationhouse, where he refused to answer questions regarding the alleged hate crime.

Seligson allegedly served as one of five individuals connected to the hateful vandalism. Last week, Taylor Pelton, 28, of Astoria, Queens, was arrested at her home on July 31 by the NYPD Warrant Squad for allegedly serving as the getaway driver.

Seligson is charged with two counts of criminal mischief as a hate crime.

A version of this story first appeared on Brooklyn Paper’s sister site amNewYork.