Alleged anti-Israel arsonist accused of torching 11 NYPD cars arrested by feds: source

The feds nabbed a 21-year-old "Free Palestine" firebug, Jakhi Lodgson-McCray, on Monday after a month-long manhunt for allegedly turning a Brooklyn NYPD parking lot into a fiery graveyard of 11 squad cars, law enforcement sources told The Post. The June 12 blaze racked up a cool $800,000 in damages, and this wasn’t his first dance with chaos.

Lodgson-McCray, a repeat offender with a rap sheet screaming protest antics, strolled into federal custody and is set to face a judge later Monday, sources said. The NYPD had been hot on his trail, plastering his mug across the city and dangling a $30,000 reward for anyone who could pin him down.

"We have him on video for about 40 minutes prior to the incident. He is by himself, and, like I said, a substantial video canvass after the fact, where we track him all the way back to Manhattan," NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said last month, painting a picture of a lone arsonist slinking through the night.

But torching cop cars wasn’t enough for this guy. Cops say Lodgson-McCray, already a known face in the protest scene, also trashed a Columbia University statue during a wild September rally. "He’s also wanted for a criminal mischief incident in Columbia University back in September, where he disguised himself as a student and caused over $1,000 of damage to a statue on the campus," Kenny said. "We believe, based on his social media, that he’s very active in the protest community, involving the Free Palestine movement."

The scumcrumpet is no stranger to cuffs. His arrest record kicks off in January 2023, with busts for resisting arrest at an anti-ICE protest and a string of other stunts, like burning a flag at a city embassy and raising hell at anti-Israel demos. Surveillance footage even caught him slipping into a bodega after allegedly setting the NYPD cars ablaze, cool as you like. Those 11 torched vehicles are going to cost taxpayers at least $800,000 to replace, the NYPD reports. Just another day in the life of New York’s protest underworld.

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