Man Accused Of Scrawling Swastikas In Miami Beach Faces Judge
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A man accused of writing hateful messages on signs and property in Miami Beach was in court Tuesday morning.
Sean Kenna, 45, pleaded not guilty to hate crime charges.
The judge set his bond at $110,000 dollars and ordered him placed on house arrest.
Kenna was arrested last month after police say a swastika was found on a sign at 53rd Street and Collins Avenue and on a Citi bike kiosk along with other places around the city.
Police say it had been going on since early February, a swastika was found on a sign at 53rd and Collins Avenue, there was more on a Citi Bike Kiosk at 40th and Chase. The messages, said prosecutors, were put in public places but at least one was placed on someone's home.
The graffiti contained words like "kill the Jews" and "death to Jews" alongside images of a devil.
Police say they launched a special investigation and put the area under surveillance, detectives say they caught Sean Kenna in the act and he confessed.
"It doesn't hurt me personally, it scares me for the country, it scares me for the United States, it scares me for the world to see nationalism and hate," said Jacob Solomon.
Solomon is President and CEO of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. He said they were alerted by investigators about the anti-Semitic graffiti early on and took it very seriously.
"To ignore these kinds of things, you do it at your own peril. There are haters out there, some of them just scrawl things on the wall against the Jews, some of them pick up a gun and take action," he said
