UNMASKED?

Star of David Tagging Suspects in Paris Paid by Russian Man: Report

Police allegedly identified the culprit using the phone of a couple arrested in connection with the incident.

The man who allegedly paid a couple to spray-paint Stars of David on buildings in Paris last month was located in Russia, according to a report. A Moldovan couple was arrested in connection with the antisemitic graffiti campaign and allegedly told authorities they were acting on the instructions of an “individual in Russia.” On Tuesday, Europe 1 reported that the individual was a man named “Anatoli P” who had been identified through a phone belonging to the detained couple. Anatoli was described by the outlet as being about 50 years old and a political activist in Moldova who supported a “pro-Russian independence movement.” He allegedly paid each person involved in the tagging around $53 each, with a French security source telling Europe 1 that the operation “fits perfectly into Russia’s response” to France’s expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats over a year ago.