Federal prosecutors unsealed a complaint on March 2 charging Dan Sohail, 36, with intentionally damaging religious property at Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Sohail, of Carteret, N.J., was taken into custody earlier in the day and arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Clay Kaminsky in Brooklyn federal court.
Prosecutors allege that on Jan. 28, Sohail drove to a side entrance of the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters complex, exited his vehicle and removed barriers set up to protect the site. After motioning for passersby to move away, he allegedly returned to his car and rammed the entrance. He then reversed and drove into the doorway four more times, knocking the door off its hinges. No injuries were reported.
“Americans should be free to practice their faith without fearing defacement of their sacred places,” Harmeet Dhillon, U.S. assistant attorney general for civil rights, stated. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate attacks on houses of worship, and will vigorously prosecute those who carry them out.”
James Barnacle, assistant director in charge of the FBI New York Field Office, stated that “Sohail allegedly jeopardized dozens of lives and damaged one of our city’s sacred synagogues.”
“The FBI and the NYPD will continue to protect our community’s religious institutions to ensure a safe place for all worshippers,” he added.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called Chabad Headquarters in Brooklyn “a sacred place for many Jews in New York City and around the world.”
“Every New Yorker deserves to live in a safe city where they can practice their faith freely and without fear,” she said.
