Police arrested two brothers, residents of Prospect, CT, late Thursday night for shouting anti-Semitic slurs at and threatening a Jewish family at Bradley International Airport, the Hartford Courant reported. According to reports, the head of the family was wearing a yarmulke. The two brothers, Nicholas and Anthony Diorio, 27 and 29 respectively, face charges of intimidation based on bigotry or bias, breach of peace and interfering with police. Both brothers had to post $10,000 bail and will be arraigned Nov. 9 at Superior Court in Enfield.
According to the Courant, airport State police were notified shortly after midnight Thursday about two men who were shouting slurs at and threatening the family, who kept away but took ample photos of the brothers, their car and their car license plate. State police later arrested the brothers in their Prospect home.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Friday strongly condemned the “verbal assault of a visibly identifiable Jewish traveler at Bradley Airport in Windsor Locks, CT,” and applauded the Connecticut State Police for their “swift and appropriate response.”
“We have seen a recent spike in anti-Semitism around the state and country, and this act apparently fueled by bias is an unfortunate reminder that we have significant work still to do to combat anti-Semitism,” said ADL Connecticut Regional Director Steve Ginsburg. “When a victim is chosen because of his or her religion, the impact resonates beyond just the person targeted it can leave the entire community feeling vulnerable. This lack of civility, respect and kindness ignore our country’s shared value of religious diversity. We applaud the Connecticut State Police for their swift action and investigation.”