Pittsburgh residents charged with conspiracy, possession of destructive devices

A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against three Pittsburgh residents, charging them with conspiracy, defacing and damaging religious property, making false statements and possession of destructive devices.

The nine-count indictment, announced April 23 by the Western District of Pennsylvania’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, identified the defendants as: Mohamad Hamad, 23, of Coraopolis; Talya A. Lubit, 24, of Pittsburgh; and Micaiah Collins, 22, of Pittsburgh.

Both Hamad and Lubit were indicted previously for their roles in defacing Chabad of Squirrel Hill’s building and a Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh sign with pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist graffiti. Lubit is Jewish.

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According to the indictment, Hamad made false statements while seeking top-secret clearance as a member of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard assigned to the 171st Maintenance Squadron and stationed in Moon Township.

Hamad lied about his loyalty to the United States, according to the indictment, telling his interviewer that “his ultimate allegiance is to the United States,” despite telling others on multiple occasions that his loyalty was to Palestine and Lebanon, and sharing various pro-Hamas and pro-Hezbollah content.

“He openly expressed support for Lebanon, Hezbollah and Hamas,” acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti, said in a news release. “In addition to his previously charged role in defacing Jewish religious property, he conspired with others named in the Superseding Indictment to manufacture and detonate destructive devices.”

Hamad has a history of posting anti-Israel rhetoric and support for terrorist organizations online.

On June 6, 2024, he posted to his Instagram account a picture of himself as a juvenile holding a firearm and stated, “Been toting that K since I was a boy, don’t play with me.”

On the same day he sent Collins, via the encrypted message app Signal, a message which included another image of him holding a firearm and the text, “Been a terrorist since I was a kid in Lebanon, real sh–.” According to the complaint, Collins replied “i love it . . . ”

On June 18, Hamad wrote Collins on Signal telling her that he had received chemicals — Indian black aluminum powder and potassium perchlorate KCIO4 — that could be used to build explosives. “Some sh—came in the mail today. Can’t wait to have fun with you,” he messaged, according to the indictment.

On July 4, 2024, the indictment alleges, Hamad shared a video of an apparent Hamas funeral on his Instagram story and wrote, “Ya Allah, I can’t take this anymore, I want to fight and die. I don’t want to live here anymore. I’m jealous of these fighters, they got to fight in the way of Allah and have achieved the highest level of Jannah.”

In a July 6 Instagram post, Hamad shared a picture of a firearm with the message, “Alright yall say a prayer with me. Inshallah one day each bullet in this mag kisses the foreheads of the Zionist oppressor.”

Both Hamad and Collins conspired to manufacture and possess a destructive device and discussed the potential uses for the devices they were building and testing, the indictment charges, noting that after the pair detonated one device, Hamad built additional devices, including pipe bombs, and detonated those.

Collins is the daughter of Chad Collins, a pastor at Valley View Presbyterian Church in Garfield and a national organizer with Friends of Sabeel North America, an organization the Anti-Defamation League has characterized as “a driving force behind various Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaigns.”

Chad Collins and some members of his family are vocal anti-Israel activists and participated in last summer’s illegal encampments at the University of Pittsburgh. His daughter, Nesta Collins, was arrested and charged with obstructing law enforcement and disorderly conduct at the encampment. The criminal complaint alleges that Nesta Collins rushed a security barrier at the encampment with the intent to disassemble it, and pushed it into responding police officers. Chad Collins was a spokesperson for the encampment group at a June news conference.

In May 2024, the pastor shared to his Facebook and Instagram accounts a graphic that featured an inverted red triangle, a symbol used by Hamas to mark military targets. At the time of his arrest, Hamad was found to own a shirt featuring the same inverted red triangle and the words “Respect existence or expect resistance,” with a figure whose face is covered by a keffiyeh.

An inverted red triangle was part of the graffiti painted on Chabad of Squirrel Hill’s building.

The government believes Hamad had been attending Chad Collins’ church on Sundays, according to a recent court filing.

Less than a month ago, Hamad filed a motion to modify the conditions of his 2024 home detention release while awaiting trial for charges of damaging religious property and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.

In support of his motion — which the judge ultimately denied — Hamad stated that he “has been on home detention for approximately 152 days, with no violations of any kind reported to this Honorable Court,” and proffered several letters from friends attesting to his character.

One of those letters was written by Elyanna Sharbaji, a University of Pittsburgh graduate who served as vice president of the anti-Israel campus group Students for Justice in Palestine. SJP was recently suspended by the university and is currently working with the ACLU to sue the school.

Sharbaji also worked with Not On our Dime, an anti-Israel, BDS organization that collected signatures to get a referendum on the May 2025 ballot that, if passed, would have prohibited the city from doing business with Israel or any entity that does business with Israel. Not On Our Dime ultimately stipulated that it was unable to collect the requisite number of valid signatures.

Shawn Brokos, director of community security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said the indictment is a “testament to the persistent and diligent work of law enforcement” and “indicative of the incredible collaboration with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners.

“The July 29, 2024, targeted graffiti assault at the Jewish Federation and Chabad of Squirrel Hill was not just a graffiti case — it was the overt act masking a serious and dangerous intent to do harm to the Jewish community. The investigation uncovered a much deeper and complex conspiracy involving Hamad, Collins and Talya Lubit, including allegiance to a foreign terrorist organization, a desire to eradicate Jews and Israel, and a pathway to violence culminating in the acquisition of explosive devices. This investigation serves as a reminder that we need to remain diligent and continue to leave no stone unturned as we protect our community.”

Hamad faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Collin faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Lubit faces up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

At April 23 hearings, Collins was released on bond, and Hamad was detained pending an April 29 detention hearing. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.