'This isn't us': Jury convicts Hornell man on 19 counts in hate crime case

A Hornell man faces a lengthy state prison sentence following his conviction on 19 felony counts for distributing materials promoting white supremacy and hate at two houses of worship and a city park last summer.

Following a four-day trial, a Steuben County jury took less than an hour Friday to convict Ryan Mulhollen, 28, on ten counts of first-degree aggravated harassment and nine counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief as a hate crime.

Mulhollen is the third and final defendant convicted in a case that shook the Maple City community and garnered national news coverage, including a story in the New York Times.

As a second felony offender, Mulhollen faces up to 10 to 20 years in state prison when he is sentenced July 18 by Steuben County Court Judge Philip Roche.

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Hornell police arrested Mulhollen, Dylan Henry and Aubrey Dragonetti on July 11, 2022, charging the trio with 115 counts of first-degree aggravated harassment after what authorities said was a weekend spree distributing hate stickers around the city.

Police said stickers were left at the predominately African-American Rehoboth Deliverance Ministries Church and at the Temple Beth-El synagogue.

The material promoted the "Aryan National Army" and included a skull positioned inside a swastika, along with nooses and racially directed statements, police said.

The charges were expanded last August after a Steuben County grand jury returned a 135 count indictment against all three.

Henry, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree aggravated harassment last September. Also a repeat felony offender, Henry was sentenced in November to 1.5 to 3 years in prison.

Dragonetti, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of fourth-degree criminal mischief as a hate crime. Roche will sentence Dragonetti next September after ordering one year of interim supervision.

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DA Baker: Incident was out of character for Hornell

At trial, Mulhollen was represented by senior members of the Steuben County Public Defender’s Office. Brooks Baker, the Steuben County district attorney, prosecuted the case.

“Hopefully this conviction sends a message that should already have been sent — that hate crimes committed in its name have no place in our community," Baker said.

Baker praised what he called the rapid response of the Hornell Police Department, assisted by the New York State Police, for quickly identifying and removing this “threat from the streets and building a case that left very little for the jury to debate.”

Baker said the crime shocked the community because it was "out of character" for Hornell.

He said the "Aryan National Army" was limited to the three members, despite their efforts to recruit more people.

Hornell, Baker said, proved to be "infertile" ground for racial extremists.

“This was three idiots who were hopelessly misguided and did terrible things," Baker added. "The community as a whole absolutely rejected it. Every single person that I talked to, either on the police force or in the community, or who were victims, said, 'This isn’t us. We don’t live this way. We don’t think this way. This is not how our community is.'"

The hate materials were strongly condemned by local faith leaders. A group formed in response to the incident issued a statement calling the stickers "an act of intimidation and hatred" as well as an "intolerable assault on the fabric of our community (that) violates every standard of decency according to which each of us in our community should treat one another."

Along with the proclamation, the church leaders organized a Hornell walk for racial healing on Sept. 24.

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This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Hornell man convicted on 19 counts in hate crime case