An investigation was opened by the U.S. Department of Justice into whether protesters committed federal crimes while disrupting a public event featuring Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi last month at a Long Island synagogue, according to Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon
The investigation stems from a Jan. 27 event at Temple Beth Sholom in Roslyn Heights, where Suozzi was speaking during a community conversation on Israel, rising antisemitism and bipartisan governance.
Several protesters affiliated with the activist group Climate Defiance interrupted the program to criticize Suozzi’s recent vote in favor of a Department of Homeland Security spending bill that included funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Dhillon said the department is examining whether federal civil rights laws were violated.
“The Civil Rights Division does not tolerate violence or destruction of property motivated by religious animus,” Dhillon said in a statement. “And the rise in antisemitism across the country in recent years demonstrates the importance of robust enforcement of our civil rights laws. We will investigate this incident and prosecute any individuals we determine committed a federal crime.”
Federal law prohibits the intentional obstruction or disruption of religious worship, though the Justice Department has not specified which statutes may apply or identified any suspects.
Climate Defiance founder Michael Greenberg disputed the basis for the investigation in a statement posted on social media, arguing that no religious service was interrupted.
“Federal law prohibits interrupting a religious service. It’s clear beyond a doubt that no religious service was interrupted,” Greenberg wrote. “What happened, rather, was that several people spoke up at an event that happened to take place in a religious space.”
Greenberg accused the Justice Department of attempting to intimidate political activists, calling the investigation part of a broader pattern of enforcement actions aimed at discouraging dissent. “They know their actions will not hold up legally but they act anyway as a means of silencing and creating a culture of fear,” he wrote.
The protest followed backlash against Suozzi after he voted Jan. 22 in favor of the DHS Appropriations Act of 2026. Suozzi and Rep. Laura Gillen were the only two Long Island Democrats to support the bill, which passed the House 220-207.
The measure keeps ICE’s overall budget flat at about $10 billion, cuts funding for removal operations and reduces detention capacity. Suozzi said he supported the bill to prevent a government shutdown and later acknowledged that ICE “has overstepped its bounds,” while emphasizing that the legislation reduced detention funding and added oversight measures.
Efforts to reach Suozzi for comment were unavailing.
