Michigan antisemite was plotting to massacre kids at Jewish daycare, tried to buy assault weapons: feds
A Michigan antisemite was plotting to massacre kids at a Jewish daycare and tried to illegally buy assault weapons after hurling threats at the preschoolers, federal prosecutors have revealed.
Hassan Chokr, 35, was out on bail when he drove through the parking lot of Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills, outside Detroit, and shouted antisemitic slurs and threats as parents dropped off their kids in December 2022, authorities said.
He pleaded guilty to federal gun charged on May 28.
US Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr said Chokr's attempted gun purchase was part of what authorities believe was a larger plot 'to follow through on his menacing threats against parents and preschoolers as they walked into a place of worship.'
Immediately after his antisemitic rant, he drove to a gun shop in his nearby hometown of Dearborn — which is home to the country's highest portion of Arab Americans — and tried to buy three semiautomatic weapons.
3 Hassan Chokr police mugshot
Oakland County Jail
The Michigan man lied on the gun application, stating that he wasn't convicted of a felony and didn't have any pending felony charges, according to the Department of Justice.
But Chokr was already convicted in 2017 of felony theft. He also had a pending assault with a dangerous weapon charge.
While awaiting the results of a background check during the firearms purchase, Chokr stated 'It ain't a fair fight out here' and that he was 'going to even the score' and 'even the playing field real soon brothers, real soon,' according to court documents.
The gun store owner also overheard Chokr say that he intended to use the weapons for 'God's wrath.'
The federal background check detected the felonies, and he was denied the purchase.
The feds showed surveillance images from inside the store where he tried out a Del-Ton AR-15-style assault rifle, a Landor Arms automatic shotgun and a Glock pistol.
3 Chokr was seen trying out guns in a firearms store in Michigan.
Carlson, Frances (USAMIE), Carlson, Frances (USAMIE)
3 An image released in one of Chokr's cases.
Carlson, Frances (USAMIE), Carlson, Frances (USAMIE)
Prosecutors previously said Chokr had 'posted videos and statements on Instagram where he talks about buying guns.'
One of the posts said ''Your Jew tactics will only backfire on you, you have no place on this earth, Jew [expletive], Jew mother [expletives]. A storm is coming to wipe you all out of our lives,'' according to prosecutors.
At a court appearance after his arrest, Chokr pulled down his pants and exposed his rear-end to the judge to protest his arrest.
He now faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
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