Man pleads guilty to ramming vehicle into Chabad headquarters in Brooklyn
A man has pleaded guilty to damaging religious property after he repeatedly rammed a vehicle into the entrance of Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn, federal prosecutors said.
Dan Sohail entered the guilty plea Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. He faces prison time and restitution when he is sentenced.
The case was resolved without a hate crime conviction, according to WABC. Chabad spokesperson Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, who watched the plea from the courtroom gallery, criticized the outcome and said the sentence could amount to “no consequences.”
The incident happened on the evening of January 28 at 770 Eastern Parkway, the global headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, a major Hasidic Jewish organization. The building includes a synagogue and religious gathering spaces.
Prosecutors said the headquarters was hosting an event marking the anniversary of the death of the movement’s leader when Sohail drove to the building’s side entrance.
After arriving, Sohail got out of his vehicle and moved barriers that had been placed to protect the building. Prosecutors said he then gestured for congregants to move away before getting back into the vehicle.
Sohail drove into the side entrance, reversed, and accelerated into it four more times, knocking the entrance door off its hinges, according to court filings and statements made during the plea hearing.
No injuries were reported at the time, but the synagogue was evacuated as authorities checked for additional threats. Video from the scene showed the vehicle repeatedly striking the doors as people nearby watched and moved away.
Sohail initially told police he had lost control of the vehicle and hit the gas while wearing heavy boots, according to WABC. In court Wednesday, he said he had driven from New Jersey “and intentionally damaged the building” because it was the Chabad headquarters.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Sohail admitted that he intentionally damaged the headquarters. Officials did not immediately provide a sentencing date.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
