The DOG charged two men in Pittsburgh, PA, “with damaging religious property and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.”
One of the men, Mohamed Hama, identifies himself as a “Hamas operative” and donated to Squad members. He has dual American and Lebanese citizenship.
The other person is Talya Lubit, who is Jewish.
Beginning in October 2023 and continuing through at least the summer of 2024, numerous residents and business entities in the City of Pittsburgh, including Jewish homeowners and Jewish-owned or -affiliated business entities, have fallen victim to a range of vandalism incidents targeting them because of their actual or perceived support for Israel following the wave of violence orchestrated and carried out by Hamas primarily against civilians in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The vandalism has ranged from destruction and defacement of pro-Israel signs, to smashed windows, to graffiti on real property with anti-Israel/pro-Palestine messaging. As outlined in greater detail below, the investigation has established that a series of vandalism incidents occurring in the early morning hours of July 29, 2024, were carried out by the defendants, HAMAD and LUBIT, who specifically targeted Jewish religious real property. The investigation has further established HAMAD’s self-identified affiliation with Hamas.
“Defacing religious property is not protected speech—it is a crime,” U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said. “Members of our communities should be able to practice their faith without fear of being targeted for their religious affiliation, including, as alleged here, with a symbol associated with a terrorist organization. Protecting the civil rights of the people of Western Pennsylvania is of paramount importance to this office and our partners in law enforcement, and we are dedicated to pursuing justice on behalf of the victims of these crimes.”
A search warrant revealed Signal messages between Hamad and Lubit.
Hamad conveyed to Lubid: “My ultimate goal in life is Shaheed [Islamic martyr], everything else doesn’t matter nearly as much, for me you are Jewish so that is more than allowed for me”; “My goal sets are very different from the average person”; “I don’t see myself living long”; “For me it’s really hard to think long term.”
Lubit reminded Hamad he wanted marriage and a family.
Hamad said he no longer felt that way: “It was a feeling of I could really see myself doing that life,” “But my heart yearns for being with my brothers overseas.”
Lubit told Hamad he was “doing an honorable thing.”
The FBI found purchases of explosive material in email records:
Email records of two online purchases made on June 10, 2024, of explosive materials—two pounds of Indian Black aluminum powder from Pyro Chem Source and two pounds of potassium perchlorate KC104 from PyroCreations. The online purchases were made under the name “Chris Petrenko,” which your affiant believes to be an alias for HAMAD. According to the purchase records, the explosive materials were to be delivered to HAMAD’s residence in Coraopolis. Your affiant has reviewed PubChem, a database maintained by the National Institute of Health’s National Center for Biotechnology Information, which indicates that potassium perchlorate will form an explosive mixture when combined with certain combustible materials, such as Indian Black aluminum powder.
Here are Lubit’s messages to Hamad about the July 29 vandalism:
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