On Wednesday in New York City, Mahmoud Musa and Mohammed Othman pleaded guilty to second-degree assault as a hate crime for their role in attacking Joseph Borgen on May 20, 2021. Neither received an offer from prosecutors regarding potential sentencing, so they each could face as few as three and a half years in prison or as much as 15.
Mohammed Said Othman received a lesser charge of attempted gang assault and an agreement of three years in prison.
A fourth assailant, Waseem Awawdeh, pleaded guilty in April to hitting Borgen four times with a crutch. He said, “If I could do it again, I would.”
He received an 18-month sentence, up from six after a public outcry.
“If you beat up a Jew in the streets, this is what’s going to happen. … You’re not going to get a slap on the wrist or a BS deal. You’re going to spend real time in jail,” said Borgen at the time.
