US federal authorities on Monday announced charges against six Pennsylvania men for attacking a Jewish man and conspiring to hide their involvement and mislead investigators.

The case stood out because the investigation gave a rare look at how alleged antisemitic assailants discussed their crime behind the scenes, hid their anti-Jewish animus and conflated Jews and Israel.

The charges stem from a late-night incident in September 2024, when five of the defendants made antisemitic comments, including “Fuck the Jews” and “Fuck Israel,” to a Jewish passerby in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, the criminal complaint said.

The man was identifiably Jewish because he was wearing a Star of David pendant outside his shirt, the US Department of Justice said.

The victim stopped to confront the defendants, who made further antisemitic comments, such as “I hate Jews and I hate Israel,” told the victim that he should not be wearing a Star of David, and showed him some of their own necklaces that had Arabic script.

The verbal dispute escalated and two of the defendants, Muhammed Koc, 27, and Omar Alshmari, 28, punched and kicked the victim, splitting his lip and causing other minor injuries.

The other defendants who were at the scene were Abraham Choudhry, 22, Emirhan Arslan, 24, and Ali Alkhaleel, 19. A sixth defendant, Adeel Piracha, 22, was involved in the cover-up, but was not at the scene. All are residents of the Pittsburgh region.

After the attack, the victim reported the incident to law enforcement and the FBI opened an investigation.

Security cameras recorded part of the incident, and the University of Pittsburgh issued an alert seeking the suspects.

The defendants saw that law........

© The Times of Israel