Updated: Hanukkah stabbing suspect Thomas had Nazi links

The 38-year-old man, Grafton Thomas accused of stabbing five people with a machete at a Hanukkah celebration in a New York City suburb on Saturday night, is being linked with anti-semitic ties.

And Federal prosecutors have upgraded his charge to include hate crime.

According to Good Morning America, investigators found in the suspect home at the Greenwood Lake, New York, journals which had anti-Semitic sentiments including references to Hitler and “Nazi Culture” “on the same page as drawings of a Star of David and a Swastika.”

The day of the machete attack, Thomas’ phone was allegedly used to access an article titled: “New York City Increases Police Presence in Jewish Neighborhoods After Possible Anti-Semitic Attacks. Here’s What To Know.”

On Thomas’ phone were searches including “Why did Hitler hate the Jews,” according to the complaint.

The complaint describes that in writings found in Thomas’ journal, he showed an interest in the Black Israelite movement, a group that espouses hatred toward Jews and is known for anti-government and anti-police sentiments. The alleged killers in the Jersey City shootout at a Jewish supermarket on Dec. 10 described themselves as followers of the Black Israelite movement.

When asked if Thomas is involved in the Black Israelite movement, his defense attorney Michael Sussman said Monday: “I can’t answer that question definitively. I heard nothing from him which suggested any association.”

Thomas’ family has denounced the crime and said he has no ties to any hate groups.

“Thomas has a long history of mental illness and hospitalizations,” the family said in a statement issued Sunday night. “He has no history of like violent acts and no convictions for any crime. He has no known history of anti-Semitism and was raised in a home which embraced and respected all religions and races. He is not a member of any hate groups.”

At a news conference, Sussman stressed Thomas’ “severe psychiatric issues” and said a psychological evaluation should be conducted immediately.

Sussman said Thomas had voices in his head, “which is not unusual for people suffering from his level of psychosis.”

“He seemed to indicate there was a direction he was following that evening,” Sussman said. “His explanations were not terribly coherent.” —GMA