A man is behind bars for allegedly making anti-Semitic threats to people walking to their Sunny Isles Beach temple during the Jewish holiday over the weekend.

Sunny Isles Beach Police said 47-year-old Yudel Antonio Herrero was arrested in the case. He’s being charged with disturbing a religious assembly.

The incident happened Saturday near Chabad Lubavitch of Sunny Isles Beach and the arrest was made Sunday.

According to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, Herrero used antisemitic speech towards those entering the synagogue and disrupted the services by standing outside and blowing a shofar, or ram’s horn, in an attempt to drown out the prayers of the worshipers.

The incident happened as the Jewish holiday Sukkot was underway.

“There is no place in our community, or any community, for those who revel in spouting hate,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. “Individuals who feel that they have license to desecrate the religious ceremonies and sentiments of Shabbat services and to desecrate the Holiday of Sukkot are in for a surprise. Neither my prosecutors, the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department nor the law enforcement community of Miami-Dade County will allow that to happen.”

The rabbi at Chabad Lubavitch of Sunny Isles Beach, Yisrael Baron, applauded police for their quick action, saying they feel safe, but people need to realize that words have consequences.

“He was walking the streets, he was extremely antagonistic. He was looking for a confrontation…singling out people who look Jewish and literally said ‘Jew,'” Baron said. “This fellow needs to understand that words matter, and you cannot make threats, and you cannot single out Jewish people.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year signed into law House Bill 269, which allows prosecutors to upgrade misdemeanor offenses into felonies.

Sunny Isles Beach Police said it is their first arrest for a hate crime since the new enhanced penalties went into effect.

“As Chief of Police, my officers and I will not tolerate any form of hate towards our community and
places of worship. Our residents and visitors will have peace of mind when attending religious
services because they will know that our officers are out here vigilantly protecting them from
individuals like this,” Sunny Isles Beach Police Chief Edward Santiago said in a statement.