A New Jersey man has been sentenced to six months and a week in federal prison for ramming his car into the Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters in Brooklyn.
Dan Sohail, 36, was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday. He has already spent six months in detention, making him eligible for release in approximately one week. A judge declined a prosecutor's recommendation for an additional eight months of incarceration.
Prosecutors had sought a harsher sentence, arguing it would serve as a warning against attacks on Jewish institutions amid a significant rise in hate crimes targeting the Jewish population. In their sentencing arguments, prosecutors noted that 80 out of 146 hate crime incidents in New York City this year were directed against Jews or Jewish institutions.
Judge Eric N. Vitaliano stated that the Justice Department's argument for a severe sentence was partly based on an initial public perception that the attack was motivated by hate or terrorism. However, he acknowledged that federal prosecutors ultimately charged Sohail with intentionally damaging religious property, and Sohail pleaded guilty in mid-May.
The attack, which occurred on January 28, resulted in no injuries. Sohail drove his car into the building's side entrance five times, damaging the door and his vehicle. The judge ordered Sohail to pay $20,000 in restitution. Before driving toward the building, Sohail waved passersby away, a detail noted by the judge.
The complex at 770 Eastern Parkway includes a synagogue and offices and was reportedly busy at the time of the incident.
Citing a psychiatric report, Judge Vitaliano said that Sohail's mental health challenges, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from a difficult childhood, played a significant role in his actions. Sohail's defense attorney, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, stated in court documents that Sohail was seeking belonging and understanding through his exploration of Judaism and had found rabbinical students at the Chabad welcoming. She described the car ramming as an "irrational cry for help" after Sohail became anxious following a trip to Israel.
The incident occurred on the 75th anniversary of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson becoming the leader of the Lubavitch movement. The Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters has been a site of heightened security for years, having been the epicenter of the 1991 Crown Heights riots and the location of a stabbing incident in 2014.