Shahid Hussain was arrested for a spate of antisemitic vandalism targeting Jewish institutions in Chicago. Photo: Chicago Police Department.

A Chicago man has been charged with four counts of felony hate crime following a spate of antisemitic vandalism in the city’s Far North Side neighborhood over the past weekend.

Shahid Hussain, 39, is being held on $250,000 bail for what Judge Barbara Dawkins described as a “textbook case of hate crime.” Hussain’s spree included spray-painting yellow swastikas on a synagogue and on the grounds of a Jewish high school in Rogers Park, smashing windows at two other synagogues and making threatening gestures. At one of the targeted synagogues, two witnesses spotted Hussain wearing a cape and a red hat as he yelled about “Jews” while breaking lights, according to Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy.

Another witness claimed that Hussain’s cape was decorated with a yellow swastika, Murphy said. He also allegedly wore a false “toothbrush” mustache in the style of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and made Nazi salutes.

Hussain, who lives in Niles on the outskirts of Chicago, was arrested on Sunday night after local police received a call concerning a suspicious person who was shouting antisemitic slurs and threats, Supt. David Brown said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Dawkins said that Hussain “went around the North Side of the city and targeted a group of individuals and evoked fear in this group of people who were minding their business and trying to live in this city peacefully.” She ordered him to stay away from the buildings he targeted in the event that he is released.

The father of two small children, Hussain has a history of mental health issues as well as a criminal record. He was most recently sentenced to 12 months probation last September after pleading guilty to a stalking charge, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

Jewish community leaders said that Hussain’s court appearance was an opportunity to reject antisemitism and bigotry. “I encourage everybody to take this moment also to bring more good and more light in the world, and this way make the world a better place,” Rabbi Baruch Hertz of Congregation B’nei Ruven said. “And the message is that we will stand stronger and build even stronger and greater, and this way bring a unity to our community.”

Hussain’s next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 7.