Hate crime charges sought against students

Hate crime charges sought against students in anti-Semitic vandalism at Calabasas High

Sheriff's officials said Thursday that they believe anti-Semitic and racist graffiti allegedly scrawled by three students at Calabasas High School amounts to a hate crime.

Capt. Joe Stephens of the Malibu-Lost Hills station said that based on evidence gathered in the case, they are asking the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office for a felony vandalism filing with a hate crime enhancement.

The three suspects were arrested and booked Wednesday before being released to their parents. The cost of the cleaning up the graffiti is estimated at more than $6,000.

On Wednesday, the Anti-Defamation League released a statement strongly condemning the incident

“The defacement of a school with racial insults, swastikas and references to the Holocaust is deeply distressing,” said Amanda Susskind, Pacific Southwest regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. “The fact that this vandalism occurred during the Jewish holiday of Passover makes this incident even more disturbing. The swastika remains one of the most powerful and enduring emblems of religious and ethnic hatred.”