Hassan Chokr: Man charged with antisemitic threats now faces federal charge of lying on gun application
Hassan Chokr
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Hassan Chokr, the 35-year-old Dearborn man charged with threatening preschoolers, parents, and others during an antisemitic rant outside of a Jewish synagogue in Bloomfield hills, is now also facing federal charges for lying on a firearms form.
Chokr was charged Thursday with a federal complaint of lying on a federal firearms form when he sought to buy a shotgun, a rifle, and a semi-automatic pistol - according to U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison.
Chokr was accused of making antisemitic and racist threats to parents, young children and security at Temple Beth El; a preschool and synagogue in Bloomfield Hills on Friday, Dec. 2.
According to the federal complaint, after going to the synagogue, Chokr tried to purchase three guns and falsely claimed he had not been previously convicted of a felony.
Ison said that wasn't true as Chokr was convicted in 2017 of a felony firearm charge. He was also out on bond on an unrelated charge of resisting arrest in Wayne County.
MORE: Dearborn man accused of threatening Jewish temple moons Wayne County judge in separate case
He submitted his form at a Dearborn gun store but was denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
Chokr was not arrested that day he made the threats. Instead, he was identified and police said they are aware of the social media posts circulating about the traffic stop. He was released from the scene pending further investigation and advised not to return to the Temple Beth El.
Oakland County prosecutor's office Hate Crime Unit handles Dearborn man's anti-Semitic tirade
Hassan Chokr, 35, was pulled over by Bloomfield Township Police Friday after investigators say he was driving through the parking lot at Temple Beth El, a Synagogue – on an anti-Semitic tirade delivered to parents dropping off children at daycare, and security guards who tried to intervene.
The prosecutor issued a warrant for two felony counts of ethnic intimidation.
He's being held on a $1 million cash bond in Oakland County. He could get up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the federal charges.
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