Dearborn man indicted in antisemitic attack at temple went to gun shop after incident

A Dearborn suspect was indicted Wednesday by a grand jury on federal charges in connection with an antisemitic attack last month at Michigan's oldest Jewish congregation as new details emerged in court about his activity at a gun store the day of the incident.

Hassan Yehia Chokr, 35, who is accused of targeting children and parents at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township, was arraigned Tuesday in Oakland County Circuit Court before Judge Jacob James Cunningham and will face a pretrial hearing on April 4. He remains in Oakland County Jail on a $1 million bond in a case that has drawn national attention as an example of the upswing in antisemitic attacks.

In addition to facing two counts of ethnic intimidation brought by Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald, Chokr also faces a separate criminal case in Wayne County on a previous charge involving an assault. And he now faces a federal indictment, accused of being a felon in possession of a firearm and lying on a federal firearms form when he sought to buy a shotgun, a rifle and a semiautomatic pistol at a Dearborn gun store after he drove to the Oakland County synagogue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Dawn Ison announced Wednesday. The store, Dearborn Outdoors, was a federal firearms licensee that blocked him from buying guns after a background check.

"In seeking to make the purchases, Chokr filled out a federal firearms form," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement Wednesday. "On that form, Chokr made three false statements, any one of which would prohibit him from possessing a firearm. First, he falsely claimed that he had not been previously convicted of a felony. Second, Chokr falsely claimed that there were no felony charges currently pending against him. Finally, he falsely claimed that he had never been committed to a mental institution."

All three were lies, Ison said, because Chokr had a 2017 felony conviction of stealing with a financial transaction device such as credit cards, faces an assault charge in Wayne County and was granted in 2021 a petition by a state court for mental health treatment.

The U.S. Attorney's office charged Chokr last month and a grand jury indicted him Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors gave new details Thursday in court filings about the gun charges, saying Chokr made inflammatory remarks while trying to purchase weapons on Dec. 2. The U.S. Attorney's Office also produced several new images from what appears to be a store surveillance video of Chokr holding guns inside the Dearborn gun store; they show him trying out several weapons, including a Mac-10 machine gun, 12-gauge shotgun and AK47-style assault rifle.

"Chokr threatened 'Y’all are gonna die' at a Jewish synagogue," prosecutors said in a brief filed Jan. 12 by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frances Lee Carlson, deputy chief of the public corruption and civil rights unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. "After that, he went to a gun store to purchase firearms that he said would be used for 'God’s wrath' and 'to even the score.'"

Chokr was "attempting to illegally purchase firearms so that he could possess and use them" and was "making false statements regarding his eligibility to do so," Carlson wrote. "This was after he spent the morning terrorizing employees, children, and parents at a Jewish synagogue in Bloomfield Hills, by spewing racist and antisemitic threats and yelling, 'You all are going to die!' and “You’re going to pay!'"

The three weapons that Chokr tried to buy were: a Landor Arms, 12-gauge shotgun; a Glock, 9mm semiautomatic pistol; and a Del-ton, 5.56mm rifle, prosecutors said.

"Fortunately, Chokr was denied the purchase after a background check," said the government's brief. "This enraged Chokr who threatened to break into the store and 'get his guns.' He also posted a picture of the denial slip on social media with the words, 'Time to bust out the drywall. Ouzzie time.'"

Chokr also was heard in the gun store saying: “It ain’t a fair fight out here. I’m going to even the score. I’m going even the playing field real soon brothers, real soon.”

A police report from Bloomfield Township filed in the federal case also provided new details.

More:Judge says Dearborn man's targeting of synagogue 'bone-chilling,' sends case to trial

More:Video shows suspect yelling at kids at Bloomfield Township synagogue, hurling racial slurs

"While reviewing the videos (filmed by Chokr), detectives observed Hassan with a firearm which he couldn't lawfully possess," the report said. "Hassan pointed the firearm out the window and began making threats. Dearborn PD began documenting the incident."

Police then took him to a mental health center in Detroit.

"When Hassan left his home this morning, he was placed into protective custody based on the Wayne County Mental Order," the report said. "He was transported to Team Wellness in Detroit for treatment and a 72-hour hold. Dearborn detectives were able to obtain a search warrant for Hassan's home to determine if he was in possession of any firearms. During the search, detectives located an Airsoft gun but no firearms."

Police said earlier that day at about 9 a.m., Chokr had driven to Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Township as parents were dropping their toddlers off at a preschool that's associated with the historic synagogue established in the 19th century.

Chokr made derogatory remarks toward the synagogue, calling it the "Mother of the devil," Carlson wrote in the federal court filing. He also made bigoted remarks about Jewish people and Black people, repeatedly hurling racial slurs at two Black employees trying to protect the synagogue as he drove outside it screaming. Chokr filmed himself as he was driving at the center and uploaded the video to Instagram. He can be seen and heard yelling at children and parents as they walked and carried them to the preschool.

"Toward the end, it was uncontrolled, seething rage that quite frankly, would make anyone shudder with bone-chilling fear," Judge Kimberly Small of 48th District Court in Bloomfield Township said earlier this month before binding him over for trial to Oakland County Circuit Court.

At previous hearings, Chokr mooned a Detroit judge and yelled antisemitic slurs at a Bloomfield Township judge.

Chokr's attorney and a family member said that he suffers from mental health problems and needs assistance rather than being in jail. They also said that while some of his words were improper, he has a constitutional right to free speech.

The Bloomfield Township police report filed in the federal case describes an officers' interview with a brother of Chokr, Hussein Chokr.

"Hassan has been diagnosed with a mental condition, but Hussein is unsure which condition," the police report said of its interview with the brother. "Hassan has been prescribed medications but does not take them regularly. Hassan will act normal for a while and then become frantic and manic. Sometimes Hassan will let his emotions rage, and no one will be able to control him."

His brother also said that Chokr was a constitutional auditor, describing people who sometimes film themselves getting into confrontations with law enforcement to illustrate their constitutional rights.

"All the charges that are on him are false charges," Hussein Chokr told the Free Press.

Chokr's attorney, Nabih Ayad, argued for Chokr's release from jail in the federal case, saying he is willing to have him turn "in his passport, seeking mental health treatment, being in the custody of his brother, and being on a GPS tether and not be allowed near any religious institutions or gun shops."

Ayad also challenged prosecutors on their claim that Chokr was in possession of a firearm.

The prosecutors "are trying to have their cake and eat it, too," Ayad wrote in his brief filed on Jan. 11. "If (Chokr) possessed a firearm, then why not charge Defendant with acquisition as opposed to attempted acquisition. ... The only explanation is that the government cannot get a conviction."

Prosecutors responded in their brief, saying that Chokr "had actual physical possession of and control over six different firearms for almost four minutes."

The court filings also show that the FBI helped police in their investigation, taking possession of Chokr's cellphone at one point.

Chokr's criminal history was detailed in the police report. Some of the cases included: an order in 2021 that prohibited him from buying a pistol; pleading guilty that same year in a misdemeanor case involving cruelty to animals; pleading nolo contendere (no contest) in 2013 in a misdemeanor assault case in 19th District Court in Dearborn; and pleading guilty in 2017 to felony stealing with a financial transaction device, which often refers to credit cards, debit cards or gift cards.

On the federal charges, Chokr faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of either offense, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Contact Niraj Warikoo:[email protected] or Twitter @nwarikoo

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hassan Yehia Chokr arraigned for anti-Semitic attack charges