CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (WABC) — Dan Sohail, the individual who police say drove his car repeatedly into the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters on January 28, is now facing federal charges.
Video of the incident showed Sohail then got out of his car and told the gathered crowd, “I dunno, it slipped! It slipped, you f-king a-hole!” He appeared to spit at the crowd as NYPD officers led him toward their police cruiser.
At the time, thousands of Lubavitchers from around the world had gathered at the building to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the installation of Rebbe Menachem Schneerson as leader of the movement.
Sohail previously faced state hate crime charges and is in custody after failing to post bail.
The exact federal charges he faces are not immediately clear. A federal magistrate judge has ordered the criminal complaint unsealed but the document has not yet appeared on the public docket.
This kind of incident, involving a lone actor, is what authorities worry about following the US strikes on Iran.
“There could be retaliation from these efforts and not just on the fields in Iran and the Middle East,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday. “We have a very vulnerable target in New York City. We’ve known that for a long time. But also, there could be lone actors, the details are coming out about the mass shooting in Austin, Texas for example.”
Hochul pledged the state would keep Jews and Iranians safe.
“We will not tolerate any hate or retaliation against anyone who calls New York home because of what’s happening,” the governor said. “Americans are tired of wars and they do not see how this keeps them safer.”
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