BEXLEY, OHIO: Jacob Riedy, a 39-year-old Ohio man, has been taken into custody after he was caught hurling antisemitic slurs toward two families, who had Israeli flags on their lawns to express their support for the Jewish state amid the ongoing war.
Reidy was arrested at his home in Bexley on Monday, October 16, on charges related to criminal trespassing, according to the Bexley Police Department.
Police confirmed that Reidy has no criminal history but he was reportedly already being monitored for similar antisemitic incidents.
Last Saturday, he was reportedly spotted shouting slurs from his car outside a synagogue, according to a police spokesperson.
"You Zionist pigs are f*****g disgusting," were reportedly words Reidy fired at one family, according to a doorbell camera footage obtained by Fox News.
Debbie Meyer, the woman whose home was targeted by Reidy, reflected on the incident, saying, "I was so shaken up that I had to call the police right away because I wanted them to get here as fast as they could and be able to find him."
What did Jacob Reidy say at Debbie Meyer’s house?
Meyer told Fox News that she was home with her husband, who was watching a football game when the doorbell rang on Sunday. She chose not to open the door since the man appeared suspicious to her. "Hey, can I help you?" Meyer said to the man through her ring doorbell camera.
“Hello? Do I just talk about this? I’ve never used one of these," Riedy replied, leaning toward the ring doorbell.
The mother-of-three responded, “Yeah. Go ahead. What can I help you with sir?” This was the moment when Reidy made his vile remark as he knelt and put his face close to the camera.
Police confirmed that Reidy made similar antisemitic remarks at another house one block away from Meyer's home.
At the other home, he reportedly called the family "dirty Zionists" and told them he "wished they would die", according to a police spokesperson.
Meyer, who is acquainted with the family that allegedly suffered the hate attack, said, “They told him to get off the property. Then he laughed like he did when he left my house walked down the driveway, got in his car, and drove away. Like no worries in the world.”
What did Debbie Meyer say about Jacob Riedy’s hate attack?
Meyer, whose mother was a Holocaust survivor, said the episode caused a great deal of distress in her family.
"I am the child of a survivor of the Holocaust, so this hits home for me on so many different levels. So, I take the barbaric acts committed against Israel and my family and friends over there very personally,” she said.
She continued, “When you’re in America, many share their support through donations, acts of kindness, and prayer, and for me, to put that flag up there was my way of supporting Israel.”
“I knew in my heart deep down that anytime you put an Israeli flag up, you take a chance because of people who are out there who are antisemitic and hate Jews,” the mother added.
Despite the hate attack, Meyer claimed that she had no plans to remove the flag. "It’s not coming down. That flag is staying up,” she said.
The incident reportedly transpired just a few days after FBI Director Christopher Wray issued a warning about an increase in domestic threats related to Israel's conflict with Hamas, which started following the militant group's deadly attack on October 7.
More than 1,400 Israelis have died since the war began and at least 150 adults and children have been taken hostage in Gaza, according to the Israeli government.
