2 years probation for Jan. 6 rioting

Herricks grad led group into Capitol

BY BRANDON DUFFY

A New Hyde Park man was sentenced Thursday to two years of probation for leading a group of rioters inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Eric Gerwatowski, 32, was at the front of a crowd outside the Upper House doors when he pulled one of them open after Capitol Police had closed them to prevent rioters from entering, according to federal prosecutors.

After opening the doors, Gerwatowski turned to the crowd behind him and shouted “Let’s go!” as he began to direct rioters inside the building.

Gerwatowski was sentenced to 24 months’ probation, 30 days home detention, $2,000 restitution to the Architect of the Capitol and 60 hours of community service. He pleaded guilty to interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder in November after being arrested in February last year.

While inside the Capitol, Gerwatowski was live-streamed by another rioter that showed him saying “they’re

BY ROBERT PELAEZ

A crowd of approximately 100 people at Young Israel of Great Neck participated in a discussion on the prevalence of antisemitism and ways to combat it on Tuesday night.

Attendees were treated to a panel consisting of Nassau County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, Jewish rights activist Rudy Rochman, Young Israel Rabbi Shmuel Ismach, Andrea Bolender from Voices4Truth and Avi Posnick from StandWithUs.

Rochman said antisemitism becomes more exposed when the Jewish community strays from what their purpose and true identity is.

“If our people know who they are and are able to reconnect back to our roots and to our values and to actually achieve our aspirations, I can guarantee that antisemitism will go away,” Rochman said.

The 29-year-old uses social media to connect with an audience to not only fght antisemitism but to promote the Jewish community to celebrate everyone’s respected heritage

Correction

and origins. Simply talking about antisemitism, he said, is not enough to combat it.

“It’s understanding how antisemitism is portrayed,” he said. “How it works and how to be able to stand up and not just make excuses because we talked about it that we feel good with things.”

Bolender said people disagreeing with Israeli politics has morphed into antisemitic rhetoric, with people equating a political debate with Jewhatred. Properly educating students,

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Last week’s Guide to Great Neck did not list the Water Authority of Great Neck’s supervisor of water plant operation as Adam Solow.

Additionally, it did not include the Chabad of Lake Success information. The Chabad is located at 224 Lakeville Road, Lake Success NY 11020.

The chabad’s phone number is 516-487-3343. Its website is www.chabadlakesuccess.com/

DISPLAY ADVERTISING: Steven Blank 516-307-1045 x201 sblank@theisland360.com raping kids and they’re shooting kids” before leaving after being inside for about three minutes, ofcials said.

Gerwatowski was also interviewed outside the Capitol on camera saying “the commies are trying to steal the country” and that he believed the election was stolen.

Gerwatowski is a graduate of Herricks High School Class of 2008, according to classmates.com.

The Daily News reported he was a member of heavy metal rock bands. The website Reverberation lists an Eric Gerwatowski as a vocalist for the band The Optimist. One of the songs featured on The Optimist website is titled “Maladjusted.”

The band’s Facebook page in 2015 shared a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. saying “he who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

Ofcials said the Twitter account @SeditionHunters, which is operated by civilians to share information about identifying suspects from the riot, posted pictures of Gerwatowski using the hashtag #lordlonghair.

The FBI was also able to

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