The man, Douglas G. Schifer, 66, made antisemitic statements back in November 7, 2020, while the neighbors were having guests over, saying "all you f***ing people, it’s no wonder Hitler burned you people in ovens" and “f***ing Hitler should have gassed you,” among other slurs, obscenities and threats.
He also threatened to poison his Jewish neighbors' dog and shoot both the neighbors and their dog, according to plea documents. He additionally threatened to burn down a garage the neighbors were remodeling into an apartment.
Schifer also broke one of the windows of his neighbors' house and spat on one of them. He also mentioned gassing Jewish people, and threatened to chop his neighbors up and burn them in ovens.
Criminal interference with the right to fair housing makes it "unlawful for an individual to use force or threaten to use force to injure, intimidate, or interfere with, or attempt to injure, intimidate, or interfere with, any person's housing rights because of that person's race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin," according to the US Department of Justice's website.
Accordingly, this crime would warrant a punishment of up to ten years in prison or a fine, or both, if the crime causes bodily injury or includes the "use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire."While Schifer threatened to use fire to cause bodily harm, threatening both to cut up the Jewish neighbors and burn them in ovens and to burn their property to the ground, the DOJ announcement stated that he only faces up to a year in prison and a possible fine of up to $100,000.