By Joseph Marshall
A New Jersey man who was filmed dancing with yeshiva students inside Chabad Lubavitch world headquarters roughly 10 days before deliberately ramming his car into the building five times has been sentenced to six months and one week in prison.
Dan Sohail, 36, has already spent six months in custody, meaning he is expected to be released within days. Federal prosecutors had asked that Sohail remain behind bars for another eight months, bringing his total sentence to 14 months, but U.S. District Judge Eric Vitaliano rejected the request.
Sohail drove from New Jersey to 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn on January 28. He removed protective barriers from a side entrance, cleared snow from the area and motioned for people nearby to move away before returning to his vehicle. He then drove into the entrance five consecutive times, knocking a door from its hinges and causing approximately $19,000 in damage.
The Chabad headquarters, which includes a synagogue, offices and study areas, was packed at the time. A Chabad spokesman estimated that approximately 2,000 people were inside the complex. No one was injured.
Sohail initially told police that he had lost control of his vehicle because he was wearing heavy boots. He later admitted in federal court that he drove into the building intentionally because it was the Chabad headquarters. He pleaded guilty in May to intentionally damaging religious property, an offence carrying a maximum sentence of three years. Sohail was not convicted of a hate crime. State hate crime charges filed shortly after the attack were dropped as the federal case proceeded.
Prosecutors argued that a longer sentence was needed as a warning amid the sharp increase in attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions. They told the court that 80 of the 146 hate crime incidents reported in New York City since the beginning of the year had targeted Jews or Jewish institutions.
Vitaliano rejected the argument, saying the attack had initially been presented publicly as an act motivated by hatred of Jews or terrorism, but that the evidence and the charge before the court did not support that conclusion. He said Sohail’s mental health played an important role in the attack and ordered him to undergo treatment after his release.
Sohail’s defence lawyer said he had been suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and had been looking for acceptance through Judaism. She said he had visited Chabad, found the rabbinical students welcoming, danced with them and later travelled to Israel at their suggestion.
Video verified by CBS News showed Sohail dancing and interacting with yeshiva students inside 770 approximately 10 days before the attack. Police said he had also visited Chabad locations in New Jersey and had spoken about converting to Judaism, although rabbis who encountered him described his behaviour as unstable.
His lawyer described the attack as an irrational cry for help. The judge called the case a sad story and ordered Sohail to pay approximately $20,000 in restitution.
The attack took place on the 75th anniversary of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson becoming leader of the Chabad Lubavitch movement. The date and the location led to immediate fears that the incident was another attack against Jews, with New York officials increasing security around houses of worship across the city.
Sohail deliberately cleared the entrance, warned bystanders to move and drove into one of the world’s most recognizable Jewish institutions five times. He will serve approximately six months in custody and is expected to be released within a week.
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