Laschinger tells Sarasota Police officers that remarks by Israeli prime minister prompted his act
Thirty-year-old Brayton Patrick Laschinger of 1366 Fourth St. in Sarasota is facing a hate crime charge of criminal mischief involving a religious building, the Sarasota Police Department (SPD) has reported.
About 6 a.m. on Wednesday, July 29, damage was reported at the Chabad of Downtown Sarasota, which is located on Cocoanut Avenue, Laschinger’s Probable Cause Affidavitexplains. “In surveillance footage,” an SPD news release says, Laschinger is seen with a blue towel covering his head and face as he throws a brick, breaking a window on the front of the synagogue, the release adds.
The repair estimate is more than $5,000, Laschinger’s Probable Cause Affidavit points out.
Laschinger admitted to the crime, the affidavit also says; he told the arresting officers that he is “anti-Israel, and he knew that the building was of Jewish origins. He saw how the world was going and he wanted to fight back,” the affidavit continues.
“He stated he was scrolling through social media the morning of 7/29/26 and saw propaganda that was making him mad,” the affidavit adds. “He saw a post of Benjamin Netanyahu [the Israeli prime minister] speaking out about the Armenian genocide, but [Netanyahu] would not acknowledge the genocide against the Palestinian people. Laschinger stated he posted things on social media but that it was just saying and not doing,” the affidavit says.
On July 31, Laschinger was released from the Sarasota County Jail on bond of $2,500, his booking record shows. His arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 28.
The case remains under investigation, the Police Department says. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at 941-263-6070 or Sarasota Crime Stoppers at 941-366-TIPS (8477).
A Sarasota News Leader review of 12th Judicial Circuit Court records found no other cases involving Laschinger.