A Texas woman who terrorized a Reform synagogue a week ago not only missed her court date after an arrest for the incident but returned this past Friday to continue her attacks.
Harris County prosecutors told the court that Ezra Law – yes, a woman – broke into Congregation Emanu El last Saturday and desecrated the synagogue, causing several thousand dollars’ worth of damage.
A rabbi who was preparing to officiate at a Bar Mitzvah a week ago had discovered Law on the pulpit upon entering the synagogue, which has served Houston’s Jewish community from the same location on Sunset since 1949, according to KTRH News Radio.
According to a 2016 study by The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, at least 51,000 Jews live in Greater Houston.
“There were several religious items that had been removed from their place,” Assistant Harris County District Attorney Erica Winsor said, according to the Click2Houston.com news outlet.
In addition to red wine apparently imbibed and spilled by the suspect, “there was a Torah scroll that was removed from the Holy Ark and spread out on the floor. And there was red wine that was spilled on that scroll,” Winsor said. “It can’t just be repaired. It might have to be replaced.”
Law was arrested and told to show up in court for her arraignment this past Friday.
Instead, she returned to the synagogue to create more havoc, allegedly screaming and shouting at the preschoolers who were holding a service there. Adults at the scene called the police, but the suspect fled before officers arrived.
A warrant was issued for Law’s arrest, with her mental status to be evaluated once she has been booked into the jail.
According to the report by KPRC 2, Law is currently charged with felony criminal mischief inside a place of worship, with officials mulling the question of whether her actions constitute a hate crime.
