Pittsburgh man who claimed ties to Hamas held without bail pending trial
All three defendants in the case — including a Jewish woman and a pastor’s daughter — plead not guilty.
A Pittsburgh-area resident who identifies as a Hamas operative was ordered to be detained in jail pending his trial for charges related to vandalizing Chabad of Squirrel Hill, lying to the federal government and possessing bomb-making materials.
After weighing evidence presented by prosecutors and a defense attorney at an April 29 hearing that didn’t conclude until May 1, U.S Magistrate Judge Patricia Dodge found that Mohamad Hamad, a former member of the National Guard and a Moon resident, “poses serious danger to any person or the community,” and rejected his bid for home detention.
Hamad, 23, was charged in October, along with co-defendant Talya Lubit, in connection with their the vandalization of Chabad of Squirrel Hill and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. The graffiti painted on Chabad of Squirrel Hill include an inverted red triangle, a symbol used by Hamas to mark its targets.
Last month, Hamad, Lubit — who is Jewish — and a third co-defendant, Micaiah Collins, were charged in a superseding indictment which added new charges, including conspiracy, possessing a destructive device and lying to a governmental agency while undergoing a background check for the Pennsylvania Air National Guard.
Collins is the daughter of Chad Collins, a pastor of Valley View Presbyterian Church and a national leader of the anti-Israel organization FOSNA. She is the sister of Nesta Collins, who is awaiting trial in Allegheny County for charges related to aggressive behavior at an anti-Israel encampment at the University of Pittsburgh last summer.
Dodge ordered Hamad detained in jail based on evidence that he is a supporter of Hamas and has “allegiance to foreign terrorist goals,” and that he “referred to himself as a terrorist and Hamas operative.”
All three defendants have pled not guilty. A trial date has not been set.
Full story to come. PJC
Toby Tabachnick can be reached at ttabachnick@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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