Islamophobic Remarks :
After a New York Hate Crime Task Force investigation, Jordan Endler, a lawyer, was taken into custody and charged with trespassing and intimidating mosque attendees. The event that occurred at the Islamic Center in Melville is captured on camera.
On February 23, 2024, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office released the following news release:
Jordan Endler, 46, of East Northport, a Suffolk County-based attorney, was reportedly arrested for criminal trespass in the third degree and harassment in the second degree after being asked to leave a mosque by an employee and harassing the employee. This information was released by Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today.
“I want to remind everyone that no matter what else is going on in the world, here in Suffolk County, we will not tolerate bias or hate. I want to thank the Muslim community for alerting us to this incident, so that detectives from our office and the Suffolk County Police Department’s Hate Crimes Unit can continue to investigate it,” said District Attorney Tierney. “My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that all Suffolk County residents feel safe in their houses of worship, regardless of their faith.”
The inquiry states that on February 21, 2024, around 2:30 p.m., Endler knocked on the door of the Islamic Center of Melville and purportedly started interrogating the worker who answered it. After that, Endler begged the worker to let him inside the mosque, and the worker complied. Endler allegedly started harassing the employee as soon as he was inside.
Endler was requested to leave the Center by a staff, but he allegedly refused, started yelling at the employee, and remained within the structure until the police arrived. On February 22, 2024, Endler was taken into custody by the Suffolk County Police Department at his residence.
Endler appeared before District Court Judge Alonzo G. Jacobs on February 23, 2024, for an arraignment on one count of Criminal Trespass in the Third Degree, a Class B misdemeanor, and Harassment in the Second Degree, a violation. While the case was pending, Judge Jacobs freed Endler on his own recognizance, but at the District Attorney’s office’s request, the judge also issued an order of protection for the employee. The charges against Endler are deemed ineligible for bail under current New York State law. Bob Curran, Esq. is Endler’s attorney, and he is scheduled to return to court on April 3, 2024.
Emma Behrens of the Intake & Discovery Compliance Bureau is the prosecutor in this case.
Bio :
Jordan M. Endler, a New Yorker, joined the company in 2014. His areas of expertise include estate planning, real estate, elder law, and marital and family law. In 1999, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and in 2003, he completed his legal studies at Vermont Law School. New Jersey and New York licenses are in Mr. Endler’s possession for legal practice.