A New Jersey man was sentenced today to 40 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for committing a series of bias-motivated violent assaults on members of the Orthodox Jewish community in and around Lakewood, New Jersey.
Dion Marsh, 29, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi to an information charging him with five counts of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and one count of carjacking. Regarding the Shepard Byrd Act violations, Marsh admitted to willfully causing bodily injury to five victims and attempting to kill and cause injuries with dangerous weapons to four victims because they are Jewish.
“Enough is enough – hate-fueled attacks on the Orthodox Jewish community are abhorrent, unlawful and contrary to our values as Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “As we aggressively work to confront and eradicate antisemitic violence, we recognize the unique vulnerabilities faced by Orthodox Jews who are often targeted because of religious clothing and yarmulkes. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute senseless hate crimes and we will protect people exercising their constitutional right to practice their religion.”
“The threat from hate-fueled violence is a sad reality that impacts far too many people across our state and our nation,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “This defendant previously admitted to violently attacking 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. The sentence imposed today holds Marsh accountable for his brutal and hate-filled rampage. We have no higher priority than protecting the civil rights of our New Jersey residents.”
“These victims were targeted by Marsh because of the way they were dressed, which is in accordance with their religious beliefs,” said Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI Newark Field Office. “They have that right in this country. Marsh, however, did not have that right and broke federal law when he attacked, stabbed, and carjacked innocent people. The rise of hate crimes in our communities has become a noxious disease. FBI Newark and our law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue anyone who violates someone’s constitutionally protected civil rights to simply be who they are. We ask anyone who thinks they've been a victim or knows someone who is to contact us so we can help them.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 8, 2022, Marsh carried out a series of violent assaults on members of the Orthodox Jewish Community in Lakewood.
Specifically:
- At 1:18 p.m., Marsh forced a visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man out of his car in Lakewood.
- At 5:20 p.m., Marsh struck another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man with a vehicle.
- At 6:06 p.m., he used that second vehicle to strike another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man.
- At 6:55 p.m., driving the vehicle stolen from his first victim again attempted another attack.
- At 8:23 p.m., still using the stolen vehicle struck another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man.
The FBI Newark Field Office investigated alongside several local agencies including Red Bank Resident Agency; Lakewood Police Department; Jackson Township Police Department; Ocean County Sheriff’s Office; Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office; New Jersey State Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Joseph Gribko prosecuted with assistance from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.