Hassan Chokr of Dearborn, Mich., pleaded guilty on May 28 and faces up to 15 years in prison for possessing multiple guns in a store, which didn’t sell him the firearms after conducting a background check, as a convicted felon, the U.S. Justice Department stated.
In December 2022, the then 37-year-old drove through a parking lot at a synagogue in Bloomingfield, Mich., as Jewish parents walked their preschoolers inside. He “aggressively” yelled antisemitic things at them, including “profanities and attacking their support for Israel,” according to the Justice Department.
After he was asked to leave, Chokr went to a gun store and tried to buy three guns—a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, a rifle and a semi-automatic pistol. “He held each firearm, and at times pointed it and pulled the trigger,” the Justice Department stated. He also lied, saying he had not been convicted of a felony when he had been a few years before.
“While awaiting the results of the background check, Chokr indicated that he would ‘even the score’ and use the guns for ‘God’s wrath,’” per the department. “He ultimately was denied the purchase of the firearms after the background check.”
“The federal government must do everything in its power to stem the rising tide of antisemitism,” stated Jerome Gorgon Jr., interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. “Chokr’s attempt to purchase several deadly firearms in an apparent attempt to follow through on his menacing threats against parents and preschoolers as they walked into a place of worship represents every American’s worst nightmare.”
“We will not allow anyone to terrorize our Jewish neighbors,” he stated. “We are committed to protecting every American and their right to live and worship free of fear.”
He is slated to be sentenced on Sept. 24.