Days after a 46-year-old man named Larry Montes allegedly walked into a Manhattan synagogue during Shabbat services and attacked a congregant and a security member, Rep. Mike Lawler stood up and said what everybody in New York has been thinking.

"The Attorney General of the State of New York, Letitia James, needs to actually do her f---ing job."

Lawler, a Republican congressman from New York, wasn't done. "Which means prosecute antisemitic hate crimes," he continued. "Rather than running around doing whatever the hell she does, where she plays politics every day, maybe she can actually focus on what her job is."

The numbers behind his fury aren't hard to find. According to Fox News, antisemitic hate crimes in New York City have risen 8.5% year-over-year. More than 50% of all hate crimes in the city are anti-Jewish attacks. And Lawler says more than 90% of antisemitic hate crimes in New York State go unprosecuted.

Ninety percent.

Montes was charged with two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime. His bail was set at $10,000 cash and $30,000 bond — which, in a state that practically invented cashless bail, almost counts as getting tough. Lawler wasn't impressed. "Prosecute to the fullest extent of the law," he said. "Stop releasing these people on cashless bail."

James's campaign spokesperson fired back with the kind of non-answer that practically writes itself: "Keeping New York families safe is the Attorney General's top priority and has been since day one." The spokesperson added that "the congressman should focus on his own campaign instead of political theater."

Interesting framing. A Jewish community is getting attacked in the streets and in their synagogues during Shabbat, and the AG's office calls the response "political theater." Meanwhile, James's office touts roughly 10,000 firearms removed from streets since 2019 and dozens of gun and drug trafficking rings dismantled. Those are real numbers. But they don't answer the question Lawler is actually asking: why does the state's chief law enforcement officer seem allergic to prosecuting hate crimes against Jewish New Yorkers?

Lawler has picked up endorsements from the Police Conference of New York, the Port Authority PBA, the Rockland County PBA, and the New York State Fraternal Order of Police. Both he and James are seeking re-election, which James's team is clearly using to dismiss the criticism as campaign posturing.

But here's what the campaign-posturing defense doesn't account for: the 8.5% increase is real. The 50%-plus share of hate crimes targeting Jewish residents is real. The synagogue attack during Shabbat services is real. Those aren't talking points. Those are crime statistics.

"We have seen a rapid rise in attacks on places of worship," Lawler said. "We have seen a rise in antisemitic hate crimes."

Letitia James built a national profile on the promise that no one is above the law. Turns out some victims are beneath it.