D.C. police arrested a man on Monday for allegedly scrawling anti-Semitic messages and images on the door of the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue over the Thanksgiving weekend, in what authorities are calling a possible hate crime.

Luis Montsinos, 28 and of no fixed address, was arrested on Monday afternoon outside the synagogue. He was charged with defacing property and resisting arrest, and police have added an “anti-Jewish” bias to his charges. Under D.C. law, bias-related crimes can draw additional penalties.

According to an email from the synagogue’s three rabbis, “anti-Semitic graffiti was carved into into a door and drawn on a stairway of our beloved Sixth & I” last Friday. The Post reports that the vandalism included the word “JEW” carved into the door and swastikas scrawled on the staircase.

“Given the current climate, we unfortunately are not surprised by this happening,” wrote the rabbis in the email. “Anti-semitic attacks are on the rise, as are hate crimes against all marginalized communities. While we are grateful to live in a country that has nurtured the world’s most vibrant and exciting Jewish communities, we know there is a tremendous amount of work yet to be done.”

“It is no small irony that it was our doors, symbols of welcoming and inclusivity, onto which someone spewed hatred and bigotry,” they added.

According to court records, Montsinos was already facing a bench warrant for failing to appear for a court hearing. In late September, he was charged with simple assault after allegedly calling a group of people “faggots” and punching one man. The incident occurred a block from the synagogue, and police are also investigating it as a hate crime. Montsinos initially pleaded not guilty, but he failed to appear for a court hearing for that incident in early November.

Hate crimes have been on the rise in D.C. in recent years, and there have been numerous high-profile incidents around the region involving racist and anti-Semitic messages and graffiti. In October, “hate-filled” graffiti was found outside the Washington Hebrew Congregation in McLean Gardens. And in 2016, police investigated cases of the word “JEW” being scrawled into crosswalks in Gallery Place, not far from the synagogue. But there have also been reports that the U.S. Attorney for D.C., which prosecutes violent crime in the city, has prosecuted fewer hate crimes in recent years.

“While the damage to the building is minimal and will be fixed quickly, events like this can throw even the toughest people into a tailspin,” wrote the rabbis. “But we are stronger than a few swastikas; stronger than some impotent graffiti etched into our door.”