Suspect charged with yelling antisemitic phrases from car
In separate case, Edward Owens indicted for threatening public official
Squirrel Hill resident Thomas Hall has been charged with harassment, ethnic intimidation and disorderly conduct for allegedly yelling “F— Israel” and other antisemitic rhetoric.
Hall was seen and heard yelling the slurs from a tan Chevrolet sedan on Murray Avenue by Yeshiva Girls School students. He reportedly has engaged in this behavior in Squirrel Hill since March.
Pennsylvania has no hate crime laws; instead it relies on its ethnic intimidation law, which covers offenses committed with malicious intent toward an individual’s race, color, religion or national origin.
In April, state Rep. Dan Frankel and state Sen. Jay Costa reintroduced a package of bills meant to strengthen law enforcement’s response to hate crimes, improve tracking, advocate for victims and prevent future hate-based crimes.
A senate co-sponsorship memorandum accompanying the package noted that hate crime incidents more than doubled in Pennsylvania between 2020 and 2021 and nearly doubled again between 2021 and 2023.
So far in 2025, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh has logged 198 antisemitic incidents in the area. That compares to 181 in 2024.
Federation Community Security Director Shawn Brokos urged anyone who saw Hall, his car or heard his antisemitic rants to call 911 and report the incidents to Detective Lauren Gabriel at the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Zone 4 station. Antisemitic incidents can also be reported to the Federation via its website, at jewishpgh.org/form/incident-report.
Hall is scheduled to appear in court Aug 20.
In a separate case, Elizabeth resident Edward Arthur Owens Jr. was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month. He pled not guilty during a July 20 hearing to charges of threatening to injure a local public official and making false statements to government officials.
The threats were made via a social media app, and included the message, “Go back to Israel or better yet, exterminate yourself and save us the trouble,” and a conspiracy theory suggesting that Jews have been expelled from 109 countries.
Owens remains in custody pending trial. PJC
—David Rullo
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