Sadat Mousa, 51, accused of spray-painting swastikas and violent anti-Jewish and anti-gay messages on a church in San Francisco, will undergo a court-ordered evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial, prosecutors said.
Sadat Mousa, 51, faces multiple charges stemming from the Feb. 28 vandalism at the Central Seventh-day Adventist Church in San Francisco’s Lower Pacific Heights neighborhood. Prosecutors charged him with felony vandalism with a hate-crime enhancement, two felony counts of vandalism of a place of worship, felony placement of a swastika and two misdemeanor vandalism counts, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
According to court filings, Mousa allegedly used gold spray paint and markers at about 7:48 a.m. to deface the church and nearby property, including a mailbox, a utility box and a parking meter near California and Broderick streets. The messages included “Hitler hero,” “Hamas,” antisemitic statements and anti-gay slurs, prosecutors said.
Police estimated the vandalism caused more than $20,000 in damage.
Authorities detained Mousa shortly after the graffiti was discovered. According to court records, he rambled to officers during the arrest but said on body-camera footage that he “does not have any mental health issues.”
Mousa was scheduled to be arraigned on March 5, but the hearing was postponed. “The court declared a doubt as to his competency to stand trial and suspended criminal proceedings,” the district attorney’s office told JNS.
His next court date is March 12, when the court is expected to appoint an alienist, an expert who evaluates a defendant’s mental fitness, to determine whether he can stand trial, the office added. Mousa remains in custody.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins called the case “one of the more disturbing incidents that I have seen.”
Court filings also cite prior threatening behavior, including a previous conviction in San Francisco for felony criminal threats.
