Dearborn Muslim Man Sentenced After Threatening to Kill Jews ‘For Allla-h’

A Dearborn Muslim man who terrorized Jewish families with threats of murder outside an Oakland County temple before attempting to acquire firearms has been sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison.

Hassan Chokr, 38, was given a 34-month sentence on Wednesday after pleading guilty in May to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Federal officials said the conviction followed a disturbing sequence of events that began outside Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills and continued at a Dearborn gun shop.

According to prosecutors, on the morning of December 2, 2022, Chokr traveled to the temple’s parking lot, where he directed racist and antisemitic threats at Jewish children, their parents, and security personnel. Witnesses reported that he shouted threats invoking “All-h” and was eventually forced off the property.

Not long afterward, Chokr entered a Dearborn gun store, where prosecutors said he attempted to buy three firearms despite being legally barred as a convicted felon. Surveillance and witness accounts revealed that he handled all three guns, at times pointing them and pulling the trigger. While awaiting a background check, Chokr allegedly declared he would “even the score” and carry out “G-d’s wrath.”

Store staff ultimately denied the sale after the background check confirmed he was ineligible. Federal prosecutors said Chokr had lied on paperwork about his criminal record when attempting the purchase.

“Chokr’s sickening antisemitic threats and his apparent attempt to make good on them with guns are part of an alarming pattern of violence against believers,” U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said after sentencing. “And we will do everything in our power to fight against this hatred and to protect the American family and their right to worship God without fear.”

Beyond the federal case, Oakland County prosecutors have also charged Chokr with two counts of ethnic intimidation in connection with his threats outside Temple Beth El.

Chokr’s abhorrent behavior did not stop at the temple and gun store. At his sentencing hearing this week, courtroom observers said he erupted in an angry tirade against the judge, spewing antisemitic insults. His remarks targeted the judge personally, apparently focusing on her last name, which he believed to be Jewish.