Man Pleads Guilty to Damaging Chabad Lubavitch Headquarters in New York

A man pleaded guilty Wednesday to repeatedly ramming his car into the Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters in New York City. He told the judge he did so because he was intent on damaging the Jewish landmark. Dan Sohail, 36, of Carteret, New Jersey, drove into an entrance to the packed Brooklyn synagogue five consecutive times in January after clearing away stanchions and urging people to move out of the way, federal prosecutors said.

The complex at 770 Eastern Parkway includes a synagogue and offices and had about 2,000 people inside at the time. No one was injured. Sohail caused about $19,000 in damage, which he must repay. He resolved the case without a hate crime conviction by pleading guilty to a charge of intentionally damaging religious property.

He faces a maximum sentence of up to three years in prison, but federal sentencing guidelines call for up to six months in prison, prosecutors and his defense lawyer said. The judge did not set a date for sentencing. Jailed since his arrest, Sohail has already served more than three months behind bars.

A Chabad spokesperson who watched the proceedings said the prospect of limited additional jail time sent the wrong message. "The message needs to be sent loud and clear that attacking a synagogue will be met with serious consequences," the spokesperson told reporters afterward.

But in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday, he said he drove from New Jersey and intentionally damaged the building because it is the Chabad headquarters. Wearing a beige jail suit, he calmly told the judge he carried out his attack by driving into the door.

No weapons were discovered in Sohail’s car, police said. Intentionally damaging religious property is not categorized as a hate crime under federal law. Sohail had faced state-level hate crime charges, but they were previously dropped while the federal case proceeded.

At a prior hearing in March, his defense lawyer said Sohail was in the process of converting to Judaism and had visited the Chabad Lubavitch site before. Weeks before the incident, he had attended a social gathering at the headquarters where he was seen on video dancing with Orthodox men.

People close to Sohail, including family members and Chabad rabbis, have said he did not seem to harbor any hatred toward Jews but suffered from mental health issues. At the March hearing, a prosecutor acknowledged very significant mental health concerns about Sohail.

The crash occurred on the 75th anniversary of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson becoming the leader of the Lubavitch movement. Schneerson died in 1994 but remains a revered figure globally.

There has been a near-constant police presence around the Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters for years. The site was at the epicenter of the Crown Heights riots in 1991. In 2014, a disturbed man entered the synagogue and stabbed a rabbinical student before being shot dead by police.