Six people were indicted on hate crime charges after an antisemitic attack on a Jewish University of Pittsburgh student in 2024, federal prosecutors announced on Monday.
The seven-count indictment names Muhammed Koc, Omar Alshmari, Abraham Choudhry, Emirhan Arslan, Ali Alkhaleel and Adeel Piracha as defendants. A federal grand jury charged them with violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, obstructing justice and conspiring to obstruct justice, U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti said.
According to the indictment, at 2 a.m. on Sept. 27, 2024, the group, excluding Piracha, made “virulent antisemitic statements” to a passerby in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood after they saw his Star of David pendant. Authorities said Koc and Alshmari attacked the victim, causing a split lip and headaches. Â
Prosecutors said Piracha and the other defendants talked about the attack on social media messaging and group texts, with Alshmari and Koc identifying themselves as two of the people described in a crime alert posted by the University of Pittsburgh Police Department.Â
The group is also accused of agreeing to lie about their story, giving fake and misleading testimony to the grand jury. The attorney’s office said several defendants lied about whether they had hit the victim, whether it was related to the victim’s Jewish identity and whether they had coordinated their stories before testifying.Â
The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh said the federal charges “bring a measure of relief and reaffirm that Jewish identity is worth protecting.” In a statement, director of community security Shawn Brokos said the charges send a message that “attacks targeting people for their Jewish identity will not go unanswered.”
“We will prosecute this alleged act of violent antisemitism to the fullest extent of the law,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a news release. “This Department of Justice will always protect the First Amendment right to worship freely and without fear for Jewish Americans and all Americans of faith.” Â
Rabbi Daniel J. Fellman said the indictment is “a step in the right direction to say this behavior isn’t tolerable.”
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