A federal grand jury handed up hate crime charges Thursday against the man accused of stabbing five people with a machete during a Hanukkah celebration north of New York City.
The indictment charges Grafton Thomas with five counts each of attempting to kill victims based on their religion and obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by attempting to kill with a dangerous weapon.
Thomas, 37, also faces state charges in the Dec. 28 attack inside the home of a rabbi in Monsey, N.Y. He is being held without bail on the federal charges.