Sarasota man charged with hate crime after damaging downtown synagogue

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - A man has been charged with a hate crime after Sarasota Police say he threw a brick through a window of a downtown synagogue. Sarasota Police arrested Brayton Laschinger, 30, and charged him with felony criminal mischief of a religious building with an enhancement as a hate crime.The incident happened July 26 at about 6 a.m. at Chabad of Downtown SRQ on Cocoanut Avenue. Police say surveillance footage shows Laschinger, wearing a blue towel covering his head and face throwing a brick and breaking the front window.Police obtained other video showing someone leaving a home on Fourth Street with a blue towel on their head, picking up a brick and walking toward the synagogue. Laschinger’s roommate positively identified his as the person in that video, police said.After police detained Laschinger, police say he claims he saw propaganda on social media that made him angry. Police also say Laschinger admitted to detectives that he threw the brick at the window of the sy