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A 21-year-old pro-Palestinian activist has been charged in federal court for setting fire to eleven New York Police Department vehicles in a targeted arson attack last month, drawing renewed scrutiny over the escalating links between anti-Israel activism and acts of violence in the United States.
Jakhi McCray — a prominent figure in recent anti-Israel protests — allegedly scaled a fence into a secured NYPD parking lot in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood on June 12, where he ignited ten police vehicles and a trailer.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the total cost of the destruction was estimated at approximately $800,000.
BREAKING: The suspect who torched 11 NYPD cop cars in Brooklyn—causing $800,000+ in damage—has been identified as Jakhi Lodgson-McCray, an anti-Israel agitator with multiple protest-related arrests.
Such a violent movement.
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) July 17, 2025
McCray was formally charged with arson on Monday and faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Authorities identified him as a suspect weeks earlier, with NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny describing him as “very active in the protest community, involving the Free Palestine movement.”
Kenny also noted McCray’s involvement in vandalizing a statue at Columbia University during last year’s anti-Israel campus demonstrations.
Investigators tied McCray to the crime through surveillance footage and fingerprints recovered from sunglasses left at the scene. A $30,000 reward had been offered for information leading to his arrest. On Monday, McCray surrendered to authorities in Brooklyn with legal counsel and remains in federal custody.
🚨WANTED FOR ARSON OF NYPD PROPERTY:
Jakhi Lodgson-McCray is wanted for setting fire to NYPD vehicles on June 12 in Brooklyn & causing significant damage.There is zero tolerance for anyone who attacks the NYPD.
If you have any info, contact @NYPDTips or call 800-577-TIPS pic.twitter.com/bWQHArrojR
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) June 18, 2025
“Setting police vehicles ablaze is not a form of protest — it is a federal crime,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. “Our office will not tolerate violence or destruction that undermines law enforcement efforts to ensure public safety.”
Despite the serious charges, activist groups quickly mobilized in McCray’s defense. Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a coalition at the forefront of anti-Israel protests on campus, issued a statement calling for “solidarity” with McCray. The same group previously voiced support for Tarek Bazrouk, another anti-Israel activist who recently pleaded guilty to assaulting Jewish individuals.
The case has raised alarms over the growing radicalization of anti-Israel movements in the U.S., where ideological fervor is increasingly manifesting in threats to public safety, property, and Jewish communities.
