George Horn, of Dundalk, Md., faces three years in prison after pleading guilty to defacing Jewish tombstones at Ohr Knesseth Israel Anshe Sfard Cemetery in Baltimore County with antisemitic symbols, including Nazi swastikas, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.
Horn "admitted that he targeted the cemetery because it is a Jewish cemetery," the department said.
The 36-year-old admitted that he defaced "multiple" gravestones in the cemetery, which is in the Baltimore area, in July 2023.
"Days later, cemetery caretakers discovered 12 gravestones spray painted with swastikas and other symbols," the Justice Department said. "Despite the caretakers’ efforts, black spray paint residue in the outline of a swastika remained on some of the gravestones necessitating replacements."
"Evidence shows that Horn had antisemitic animus toward Jewish people," the department stated.
"Investigators uncovered antisemitic messages along with other items in his car and storage unit," it added. "Items included a journal with references to Naziism and white supremacy, along with a nine-second video of Horn spray-painting two gravestones, and a translated copy of Adolf Hitler’s autobiographical manifesto, 'Mein Kampf,' on his phone.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in U.S. district court on Jan. 14, 2027.