A 30-year-old woman from Portland has been apprehended in Chicago on numerous charges related to hate crimes and criminal defacement.
Mariana Noel Lynch was arrested on Thursday and is facing three felony counts of hate crime, one felony count of hate crime/school, two felony counts of criminal damage/government property, and four misdemeanor counts of criminal defacement property.
According to the Chicago Police, Lynch is accused of using a permanent marker to draw swastikas on businesses along Sheridan and an apartment building at Leone Beach Park. The police were able to identify Lynch based on a description in a police notice that was published the day before. The notice was issued after swastikas, a Star of David, and the phrase "die KKK raka" were found graffitied at Yeshiva Ohr Boruch, an Orthodox Jewish primary school in the West Ridge neighborhood.
Court documents reveal that Lynch caused over $500 worth of damages at the school. During her arrest, Lynch allegedly told officers that she felt personally persecuted by Jews and that she needed attention. She later confessed to the vandalism. It is worth noting that Lynch has a history of mental illness.
Further investigation has uncovered that Lynch has a criminal record in Portland, Oregon, and goes by multiple aliases. Court documents indicate that she has active cases in Multnomah County, with one alias listed as CPMS, 765679. Records show that Lynch was previously charged and convicted of second-degree criminal trespass in July 2012, as well as violating fare in July 2015.
An Illinois judge has released Lynch without bail. She is scheduled to appear in court in Skokie on Thursday to face the charges against her.
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