What did Dion Marsh do? New Jersey man pleads guilty to series of hate crimes against Orthodox Jews

Dion Marsh from New Jersey has pleaded guilty to a series of hate crimes targeting the members of the Orthodox Jewish community in and around Lakewood. The 29-year-old, hailing from Manchester, admitted to four counts of committing hate crimes and one count of carjacking during a federal court hearing in Trenton on Thursday, February 1, 2024.

This shocking incident took place on April 8, 2022, when Dion Marsh, then 27, carried out a series of attacks against Orthodox Jewish individuals. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey revealed that Marsh targeted victims based on their visible identification as Orthodox Jews, assaulting them with a stolen vehicle and a knife.

The assaults included forcing a visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man out of his car at 1:18 pm, and assaulting and injuring him before driving away in the stolen vehicle. Later in the day, Marsh deliberately struck two other Orthodox Jewish men with different vehicles, attempting to kill them and causing severe injuries, including broken bones.

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Dion Marsh used stolen vehicle to target another Orthodox Jewish man: Know more about it

On the day of the incident at 6:55 pm, Dion Marsh, still using the stolen vehicle, targeted another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man, striking him and stabbing him in the chest with a knife. The violent rampage continued at 8:23 pm as Marsh deliberately struck another Orthodox Jewish man in a different location. Marsh attempted to kill him, causing multiple broken bones and internal injuries.

Law enforcement apprehended Dion Marsh at his home in Manchester later that night. All five victims survived the attacks, but three were hospitalized, with one transferred to a rehabilitation facility due to serious injuries.

Dion Marsh faces severe charges, including violating the federal Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, with four hate crime violations carrying a statutory maximum term of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Additionally, the charge of assaulting another victim carries a statutory maximum term of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while the carjacking charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger stated that Deon Marsh violently attacked five men

NBC News reported that U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger emphasized the gravity of Dion Marsh's actions in a statement. He said:

"This defendant violently attacked five men, driving a car into four of them, stabbing one of them in the chest, and attempting to kill them, simply because they were visibly identifiable as Orthodox Jews."

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke echoed this sentiment, noting that Marsh had admitted to a "series of depraved, antisemitic assaults against members of the Orthodox Jewish community." She affirmed the Justice Department's commitment to aggressively prosecuting perpetrators of antisemitic violence across the country.