Man charged with hate crime after outbursts at Deal, NJ synagogue

DEAL — A man was charged after screaming obscenities at congregants outside a synagogue Friday afternoon.

Deal police said witnesses told them someone shouted "several terroristic threats that were biased in nature" outside the Orthodox Jewish Ohel Yaacob on Lawrence Avenue around 1 p.m. His rant included homophobic slurs and obscene gestures, according to acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.

The man, identified as Nicholas Skirvin, 44, of Denville, recorded himself on a cell phone while he screamed at the congregants, according to Linskey.

He was arrested at the 4th Avenue Beach in Asbury Park by Deal police and charged with second-degree bias intimidation, third-degree terroristic threats and harassment.

Skirvin is being held at the Monmouth County Jail pending a detention hearing on July 25.

“The hate-filled rhetoric heard last Friday in what is typically a peaceful neighborhood with a tight-knit Jewish community wasn’t just abhorrent and disturbing – it was criminal,” Linskey said in a statement.

“The charges being announced today should send a clear message that we take such conduct with the utmost seriousness. There is no place for hate in Monmouth County – especially when it is the motive behind a crime.”

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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