Defendants arrested for antisemitic graffiti appear in federal court
Unindicted co-conspirators still have four pounds of explosives
Mohamad Hamad and Talya Lubit appeared in federal court on Nov. 6 for an evidentiary hearing connected to their arrest last month on federal hate crime charges.
Both Hamad, 23, of Coraopolis and Lubit, 24, of Pittsburgh were charged with damaging religious property and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. Investigators allege the pair spray painted graffiti at Chabad of Squirrel Hill and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh in July.
Text conversations recovered by investigators paint Hamad as a radicalized individual committed to the idea of violence and with an allegiance to the terrorist group Hamas.
“My ultimate goal in life is Shaheed,” he wrote. “Shaheed” is defined as a martyr in the Islamic faith.
Other messages from Hamad included: “My goals are very different from the average person”; “I don’t see myself living long”; “For me it’s really hard to think long term”; and “But my heart yearns for being with my brothers overseas.”
Email records include two online purchases for explosive material in June 2024 that were delivered to Hamad’s home address.
Attorneys for the government proposed that, as a condition of monitored release before the trial, Hamad not “possess, access, or otherwise use material that reflects extremist or terroristic views without the permission of the assigned probation officer.”
The government said that extremist or terroristic material includes websites, videos, magazines, articles, books, writings, photographs, pictures and graphics produced by or in support of any “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” including Hamas.
The government further seeks to prevent Hamad from using any platform that offers encrypted communications, including but not limited to Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp and Gabb.
Hamad’s attorney, Yemi Olayia, objected to at least part of the proposed language. A ruling has not yet been issued.
Pittsburgh resident Jeremy Kazzaz attended the hearing and said he was surprised to learn that an unnamed number of unindicted co-conspirators have not been arrested and that they are in possession of nearly four pounds of explosives. The news left Kazzaz shaken.
“I was surprised,” he said. “I naively thought there was another round of charges coming, that they already had these people in custody, but no, that’s not the case.”
Shawn Brokos, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s community security director, said it is likely that investigators need more information before arresting the co-conspirators and are working to connect the dots.
That doesn’t mean there’s an immediate threat to the public, though.
“I can tell you from experience that if there was a definitive plot or a stash of weapons or explosives, then law enforcement would act immediately,” Brokos said. “In absence of that, I can’t say we shouldn’t be concerned — we should be on alert — but I don’t think we can say there is an immediate threat.”
Brokos said that if a threat is identified, it becomes “action imperative” and law enforcement will immediately intervene.
In the meantime, Brokos said she is certain that investigators are leaving no stone unturned. And while it may make some uncomfortable to hear details of the case, it is unusual for so many facts to have been announced so soon. In fact, she said that if the defendants had been indicted through a grand jury, many of the details would have remained behind closed doors.
“Because they are misdemeanor charges, there is no grand jury,” she explained. “So, the factual evidence had to be laid out in what’s called a criminal affidavit and it had to specify all the known information, which is unusual.”
Brokos said that law enforcement will monitor Hamad before his trial because “he cannot be trusted to operate freely. He is going to be monitored and have a bracelet on because there is compelling evidence that he was looking to do something in furtherance of his radical beliefs.”
That fact seemed to be lost on Hamad’s supporters. Kazzaz said there were more than two dozen in attendance. The court date was promoted on social media by several anti-Israel groups that have promoted anti-Zionist and antisemitic messages and events in the past.
“Show up for two community members facing trumped up federal charges,” one post, shared on Instagram, read.
Brokos said the bottom line can’t be any clearer.
“Hamad is a Hamas supporter,” she said. “He plans or planned to be a Hamas operative. Hamas is a terrorist organization that seeks the destruction of the United States and any faith that does not agree with his views. So, the fact that we have members or individuals in our Greater Pittsburgh community who are going to sympathize with a terrorist, who want to participate in the destruction of our country and everything we stand for defies logic,” she said.
She called the support of Hamad “flagrant moral confusion in society.”
“There should never be a time that anyone supports Hamas,” she said. “If people knew the atrocities that Hamas conducts, they wouldn’t support that cause.” PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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