Crime & Safety
Vandal Busted For Throwing Paint On Brooklyn Museum Exec's Home: NYPD
A woman was arrested for vandalizing the Brooklyn Museum's officials' residences during a wave of anti-Israel protests, police said.
![A woman was arrested for vandalizing the Brooklyn Museum's officials' residences during a wave of anti-Israel protests, police said.](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/25811147/20240802/100808/styles/patch_image/public/202303-ped-nypd-ny-senzamici-11___02095147617.jpg)
BROOKLYN, NY — Police have detained a Queens woman for allegedly vandalizing the houses of Brooklyn Museum executives with red paint during a wave of pro-Palestine and pro-Israel demonstrations earlier this summer.
Taylor Pelton, 28, was arrested Wednesday on accusations of criminal mischief and criminal mischief as a hate crime, according to police.
Police said Pelton and five others were caught on surveillance cameras vandalizing the houses of the museum's director, Anne Pasternak, and chief operations officer, Kimberly Trueblood, on June 12.
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Police report that Pelton and her colleagues sprayed an inverted red triangle on Pasternak's door and windows, a mark formerly employed by Hamas to identify Israeli military targets.
"These actions will never be tolerated in New York City for any reason. I'm sorry to Anne Pasternak and members of @brooklynmuseum's board who woke up to hatred like this," Mayor Eric Adams previously said.
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On the same night, a group of vandals on the Upper East Side sprayed the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations with red paint.
The suspects were last seen fleeing the scene in a white U-Haul truck, police said.
The group responsible has still not yet been identified by police.
Following her arrest, Pelton, who has a private attorney, pleaded not guilty and was freed on "non-monetary conditions," according to New York City court records.
Her next appearance is scheduled for Oct. 30.
Police said they are still searching for the five other people depicted in the surveillance recordings as of Friday.
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