Dan Sohail, 36, of Carteret, New Jersey, was sentenced on Wednesday by US district judge Eric Vitaliano in federal court in Brooklyn. Sohail had pleaded guilty in May to damaging religious property and has already spent approximately six months in custody.
The incident occurred on 28 January when Sohail drove his car into the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn multiple times. No one was injured in the incident.
In addition to the sentence, Judge Vitaliano ordered Sohail to pay more than $19,000 in restitution. Sohail must also undergo mandatory mental health treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and a personality disorder.
Federal prosecutors had sought a longer sentence of 14 months' imprisonment, arguing that the crime occurred "at a time and in a city where anti-Jewish crimes are surging." However, Judge Vitaliano reportedly criticised this request, stating that Sohail was charged with a property crime, not a hate crime. State hate crime charges against Sohail were previously dropped.
During the sentencing hearing, the judge noted Sohail's mental health struggles and the need for treatment. Sohail's attorneys stated that he had been exploring Judaism and that his actions in January were a "desperate call for help," driven by mental illness, rather than an act of hate.