A New York man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Albany, New York, to civil rights and firearm charges related to his threatening conduct targeted at a Jewish synagogue.
According to court documents, Mufid Fawaz Alkhader, 29, of Schenectady, pleaded guilty to an information charging one count of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, one count of brandishing a firearm during the commission of this offence, and one count of conspiring to purchase a firearm unlawfully. Alkhader was arrested on December 7, 2023, and has been in federal custody since that date.
“The defendant’s violent, antisemitic and terrifying act targeted the Temple Israel congregation, the larger Jewish community, and the right of every person to practice their religion without fear of violence,” said U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman for the Northern District of New York.
“Mr Alkhader’s plea confirms his deliberate and premeditated intentions to illegally acquire a gun and use it to bring terror to the Temple Israel community as they were preparing to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Tremaroli of the FBI Albany Field Office.
“This guilty plea shows accountability for unlawfully obtaining a firearm and using it to instill fear. By stopping those who seek to use firearms to threaten and intimidate others, we are sending a message that gun violence will not be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller of the New York Field Division for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
On the afternoon of December 7, 2023, Alkhader took an Uber from his home in Schenectady to Temple Israel Synagogue in Albany. Upon arriving, he walked up the front steps of the synagogue, removed a shotgun from a duffel bag he had been carrying, and discharged two rounds into the air, shouting, “Free Palestine!”
Still holding the shotgun, he then attempted to remove an Israeli flag from a flagpole outside of the synagogue before walking away. He was apprehended shortly after by Albany Police Department officers.
Alkhader’s threatening actions forced the daycare operating inside of Temple Israel at the time of his actions to go into lockdown.
Alkhader also significantly disrupted activities that the Temple Israel community had planned to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah and made congregants afraid to return to their place of worship.
For obstruction of the free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, Alkhader faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of seven years for brandishing a firearm during the commission of his crime.
Alkhader faces a maximum of five years in prison for participating in a conspiracy to purchase a firearm unlawfully. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 for each count. Alkhader is scheduled to be sentenced on June 6.
