New York brothers charged with hate crimes after allegedly stealing, burning Israeli flag

Two brothers, Cormac Thomas Banco, 28, and Declan Peter Banco, 31, were arrested in Hornell, New York, and charged with hate crimes after allegedly stealing an Israeli flag from a business on Park Drive and burning it at their home. The Hornell Police Department conducted an investigation leading to their arrest on Saturday at approximately 7:32 a.m. Both brothers face charges for hate crimes related to theft and criminal mischief, along with destroying evidence; Cormac Banco also faces a resisting arrest charge. They were subsequently booked into Steuben County Jail. Hornell, a city with a population of about 8,000, once had a small Jewish community, and its former Beth El Synagogue, now a national historic site, was targeted by neo-Nazis in 2022.