Austin man accused of painting swastikas, profanity on properties around Travis County
The Brief
An Austin man is facing charges for painting swastikas and profanity on properties around Travis County
Officials believe the man is involved in more than 40 incidents
Antisemitic incidents are increasing nationwide, expert says
LAKEWAY, Texas - An Austin area man is facing charges for painting swastikas and profanity on properties around Travis County over an 11-month period. Authorities said he's involved in more than 40 reported incidents.
Investigators said security video from a place Paul Zegarra had been kicked out of for "poor behavior" helped link him to all these incidents.
The backstory
Court documents said the incidents happened between March-December 2024 in Lakeway, Bee Cave, and unincorporated parts of the county. The graffiti was reportedly seen on utility poles, signs, mirrors inside public bathrooms, parking garages, homes, sports complexes, the community library, fences, garage doors, and vehicles.
Zegarra is facing charges of criminal mischief and graffiti causing financial loss, about $9,000 worth so far.
Zegarra is out of jail.
He has a hearing on Feb. 28.
What they're saying
A spokesperson for the Travis County Sheriff's Office said they are actively investigating a graffiti case involving a vehicle belonging to District Judge Jan Soifer, who presides over civil and family law cases in Travis County.
TCSO said at this point in the investigation, Zegarra cannot be ruled out as a possible suspect.
He could face additional charges.
By the numbers
In 2023, the Anti-Defamation League recorded 63 incidents of antisemitic assault, vandalism, and harassment, a more than 40% increase compared to the year before.
The official audit of antisemitic incidents for 2024 hasn't been released yet, but Jake Kurz, Anti-Defamation League Director of Strategic Communications, said, "Preliminarily, it looks like we're going to have another record year of anti-Semitic incidents, hate incidents generally from white supremacist groups."
What they're saying
Kurz said antisemitism needs to be addressed.
"If we're going to bring these levels of hate down across the board, we engage with each other in a more civil way, productive way, not through social media, not through, you know, talking at others," Kurz said.
"We just encourage them to try this as a hate crime because we feel pretty strongly that this is sending a message of hate," Kurz added.
"Not only does it intimidate and not only is it hurtful to the Jewish community, and the memory that that symbol has about the Holocaust and the deaths of millions of Jews, but it just spits on the legacy of the troops in the United States who serve to defeat that kind of evil," Anti-Defamation League Director of Strategic Communications Jake Kurz said.
"It's just not the right message and not the message that we want to have here in the Austin area," Kurz said.
The Source
Information from court documents and interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis
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