Two Syracuse University freshmen are facing hate crime charges after a disturbing incident disrupted a Jewish fraternity’s Rosh Hashanah dinner, authorities said.
Eighteen-year-old Samuel Patten is accused of hurling a bag filled with pork into the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity house on Tuesday evening, while fellow freshman Kyle Anderson, also 18, allegedly waited outside in a Jeep Wrangler with Connecticut license plates.
Both were taken into custody later that night by the university’s Department of Public Safety before being handed over to Syracuse police. They now face charges of burglary as a hate crime and criminal nuisance, according to Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick.
The pair appeared in Syracuse City Court on Wednesday, where Judge Derrek Thomas set bail at $1,500 each. Jail records show they remain held at the Onondaga County Justice Center.
Fitzpatrick underscored the seriousness of the act, emphasizing its timing during Rosh Hashanah, one of Judaism’s holiest days. Pork is forbidden under Jewish dietary laws, making the gesture particularly offensive. “This is not a foolish college prank,” Fitzpatrick told reporters. “It was a deliberate crime aimed at Jewish students gathered for a holiday meal in their own residence.”
Syracuse University Student Charged With Hate Crimes
According to court filings, the incident occurred around 6 p.m. Patten allegedly entered the doorway at 905 Walnut Avenue and threw the clear plastic bag against a wall inside the fraternity. The contents splattered across the wall and floor, police said. Witnesses identified him as he fled the scene and jumped into Anderson’s vehicle.
Police labeled the act a “religiously motivated attack” designed to intimidate members of the fraternity. The felony complaint noted residents reasonably feared they were being targeted because of their faith.
Zeta Beta Tau, founded in the 19th century as a Jewish fraternity, has previously spoken out against antisemitism on campuses nationwide. Syracuse University leaders condemned the incident swiftly. Chief Student Experience Officer Allen Groves described it as “abhorrent and shocking to the conscience.” Groves pledged university disciplinary measures in addition to the criminal proceedings.
The case comes amid heightened concern about antisemitism at colleges across the United States. Syracuse University itself was placed on a Department of Education watch list in 2019 after a series of bias-related episodes.
As the legal process unfolds, both Patten and Anderson could also face expulsion. For Jewish students at Syracuse, the attack has reignited anxieties about safety within their own campus community.
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