Chinese national in custody for allegedly covering Hanukkah display with swastikas

A Chinese national was taken into federal custody Thursday for allegedly covering Hanukkah decorations outside a Michigan Chabad with swastikas.

The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Jaifeng Chen, was arrested in Arizona on charges related to his purported vandalism, which occurred in Kalamazoo, Michigan, according to a report.

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Chen allegedly spray-painted the swastikas on Nov. 17, which the community had to clean up.

FBI agents coordinated with multiple law enforcement bodies to take down the Chinese national, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety said.

Following his arrest, Chen was also charged for an unrelated Nov. 27 incident.

“The investigation into the incidents that occurred here in Kalamazoo is ongoing,” police said. “Once complete, the investigation will be forwarded to the appropriate authority seeking charges.”

The motivation behind Chen’s vandalism, which includes spray-painting racist graffiti around Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Arcadia Commons campus, is unclear.

“He was difficult to identify for us because he had no real ties to Kalamazoo,” Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief David Boysen said. “He’d only been here for about a month. He’s kind of been all over the country.”

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Rabbi Mordechai Haller indicated that the community will not be discouraged in the wake of the vandalism of the Chabad of Kalamazoo.

“A little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness,” Haller said. “This was an act of darkness, there’s a lot of darkness in the world. The way that we fight is we start with light.”