A man accused of setting fire to a yeshiva and synagogue in Brooklyn earlier this week has been arrested and faces federal arson charges for attempting to damage the religious centers in addition to targeting a man in Hasidic garb, federal authorities announced Saturday.
Federal prosecutors allege Ali Alaheri, 29, intentionally set fire to a yeshiva and synagogue early Wednesday morning on 36th Street near Borough Park. They accuse the Brooklyn man of stacking piles of garbage next to the building and setting them on fire.
Alaheri, seen on surveillance video igniting the blaze, was also recorded attacking a man who wore traditional Hasidic garb a few hours later on the same block as the yeshiva, federal authorities said.
“With no provocation or prior interaction, the defendant began punching the victim in the head repeatedly. He took the victim’s cellular telephone, but subsequently dropped it,” prosecutors detailed in their detention memo asking the man to be held pending a trial.
“As alleged in the complaint and detention letter, Alaheri deliberately set fire to the sacred home of a yeshiva and synagogue, and viciously attacked a man wearing traditional Hasidic garb, demonstrating a violent hatred that cannot be tolerated,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Marck Lesko.
#JustIn: This perpetrator that committed the vicious assault on 36th Street, has been #Apprehended. Thanking @NYPDDetectives and @FDNY Fire Marshals for their swift and outstanding work. #YouCanRunButYouCantHide pic.twitter.com/KQE0Hujxe7
— 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐫𝐢𝐦 (@BPShomrim) May 21, 2021
Investigators are also linking Alaheri to a series of other crimes committed throughout the city in recent weeks. They claim he’s responsible for an attack against a Black man standing in a subway station in New York City on May 5. Prosecutors also described this attack as unprovoked.
⚠️Arrested by members of @ATFNewYork Arson and Explosion Task Force, and @NYPDHateCrimes for this Criminal Mischief/Hate Crime, and @NYPD66Pct Arson at a Yeshiva and a separate robbery, and @NYPD72Pct Church Criminal Mischief/Hate Crime. @NYPDShea @NYPDDetectives @NYPDchaplains https://t.co/Cvm6Vd73hX
— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPDHateCrimes) May 22, 2021
He’s also accused of setting fire to an American flag outside a Catholic church and toppling a crucifix last week displayed at St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn.
Federal officials and the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force arrested Alaheri after he was stopped by police in Dobbs Ferry in Westchester County on Friday.
Alaheri was scheduled to appear in federal court on Saturday. His public defender had no comment following the scheduled appearance.
Ali Alaheri, 29, of #Brooklyn Arrested for #Arson of Yeshiva & Synagogue
(w/ @NYPDHateCrimes @FDNY) https://t.co/xM7A4k77bk pic.twitter.com/UWRLmdH7IQ
— ATF New York (@ATFNewYork) May 22, 2021
(AP)
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2 Responses
Thanx to democrat Governor Cuomo’s bail reform, this thug should be out on the streets already.
I guess we can conclude from this story, that if you are standing on a sidewalk and you are not moving, it might be a good idea to pay close attention to your surroundings. Also if you are walking, you need to focus on the animals that might come close to you.
Let us not forget that story in Williamsburg, when a few people were talking on the street near the sidewalk and a mammal backed up his car right into them on purpose.
We are only guests here in USA and it looks like the animals that escaped the jungle know exactly were to find us. If we are texting or standing in one spot and not moving (shmoozing) , it makes it very easy for us to possibly get hurt by rotten bandits. Until Mashiach comes, we need to move quickly.
It is what it is.