Politics
The 25-year-old bigot could land in jail for months over anti-Semitic harassment at a Scottsdale synagogue in May 2023.
By Katya Schwenk
July 28, 2023
Ethan Schmidt-Crockett left the courthouse after being arraigned Wednesday.Katya Schwenk
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Ethan Schmidt-Crockett, one of Phoenix’s notorious alt-right trolls, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to criminal chargesstemming from anti-Semitic harassment at a Scottsdale synagogue.
The 25-year-old entered the plea to charges of disorderly conduct and trespassing during an arraignment in Scottsdale City Court. The next hearing in the case is set for August.
From smashing Pride displays at Target stores to threatening LGBTQ+ people and bullying employees wearing masks at a Mesa wig shop, Schmidt-Crockett has roamed the streets of Phoenix and its suburbs on various bigoted crusades. More recently, he has set his sights on targeting synagogues and spewing antisemitic hate speech.
Yet despite a few arrests and misdemeanor charges — not to mention widespread public outcry — Schmidt-Crockett has not faced any serious legal repercussions for his actions. He got away without any jail time — though he did receive three years of probation — for harassing employees of Sunny's Hair and Wigs in Mesa for the store’s mask policy in 2021.
The store, which provides wigs for cancer patients, has maintained strict masking policies to protect its immunocompromised patrons.
These new charges in Scottsdale, however, may carry some jail time. The disorderly conduct charge is a class 1 misdemeanor, which carries a penalty of up to six months in jail. The trespassing charge is a class 3 misdemeanor, which could mean up to 30 days in jail. At the hearing, Judge James Blake commented that prosecutors were "seeking jail time" for the incident.
Scottsdale police began investigating Schmidt-Crockett after receiving a report that he had caused a disturbance at a local synagogue, Congregation Beth Tefillah, on May 6, according to a police incident report. Officers found the video Schmidt-Crockett posted on social media of the incident, which shows Schmidt-Crockett barging into the synagogue and yelling "Jesus Christ is the Messiah."
A man at the synagogue, who appeared to be familiar with Schmidt-Crockett, forced him out of the building. "I know you," the man told him, according to the video. "You're not welcome here."
Rabbi Pinchas Allouche, founder of Congregation Beth Tefillah, told police that Schmidt-Crockett engaged in similar harassment during a stop at the synagogue on May 18, 2022. “He seems a little deranged and created fear among myself and others. Who knows what the limit of his craziness is,” Allouche told officers, according to the incident report.
Schmidt-Crockett said little in the courtroom on Wednesday. He met with prosecutors for a time before his arraignment but apparently did not agree to a plea.
Stopped by New Times outside of the courthouse, Schmidt-Crockett appeared somewhat dazed and then said, "Jesus Christ is the Messiah." Asked about his plea, he said, "Yeah. It's whatever."
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