A self-described Hamas terrorist who infiltrated the U.S. Air Force was hit with additional charges after the feds thwarted an apparent terror plot involving a pair of pipe bombs.
Mohamad Hamad, 23, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Lebanon, was previously charged for vandalizing a synagogue and was slapped with a nine-count superseding indictment along with Talya Lubit, 24, and Micaiah Collins, 22.
“Mohamad Hamad lied about his loyalty to the United States, among other false statements, in an attempt to obtain a Top-Secret security clearance,” Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti said.
“During that time, he openly expressed support for Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Hamas. In addition to his previously charged role in defacing Jewish religious property, he also conspired with others named in this Superseding Indictment to manufacture and detonate destructive devices.”
Hamad and Lubit, were both previously indicted for scrawling red anti-Zionist graffiti on the Chabad of Squirrel Hill’s synagogue and defacing the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s office building.
The new charges center around Hamad’s alleged lying to federal officials during his bid to gain a top-secret security clearance and his development of explosive devices.
Shortly after enlisting in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, a reserve component of the Air Force, in June 2023, Hamad, who lived in Coraopolis, Pa., privately messaged an associate in Ohio that “[i]t’s still Palestine on top though make no mistake,” prosecutors allege.
During his Air Force training, Hamad privately shared footage of Hamas’ violent attacks against Israel with an associate and wrote that “Us Muslims never surrender or back down,” the indictment claims.
In December of 2023, Hamad completed the paperwork to obtain a top-secret security clearance and later had three interviews and a background check with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, during which he allegedly lied about his loyalty to the US.
Hamad and Collins conspired to develop a “destructive device” and detonated a prototype, while musing over the damage it could do.
“That s–t was a blast,” Hamad wrote in a July 7, 2024 message to Collins per prosecutors.
Hamad later built two pipe bombs and additional “destructive devices” before detonating them as well.
According to The New York Post, after the first test explosion, Hamad proudly declared himself a “Hamas operative” in private messages and mused about the “terror” residents may have felt if they saw him dressed in a mask while ripping up Israeli flags in “white suburbia,” the indictment alleges.
Lubit also allegedly helped Hamad identify Jewish buildings in the area to target.
Authorities ultimately traced the graffiti back to Hamad and later uncovered his development of pipe bombs and other explosive devices, according to the FBI.
“We always rely on tips from the public,” a spokesperson told The Post. “This really started with the vandalism to the religious institutions here … determining the suspects in that and determining what their motivations were for the fairly strict criteria for a federal hate crime.”
Hamad is facing charges for making false statements, possession of destructive devices, conspiracy, defacing and damaging a religious building, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
If convicted, Hamd could be sentenced to up to 10 years behind bars and get hit with up to $250,000 in fines.
Collins is also facing charges of conspiracy, which carries up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Lubit is facing charges for conspiracy and defacing and damaging a religious building, which includes up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
“The FBI and our partners are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who reportedly choose to lie about being loyal to this country and instead engage in dangerous, menacing, and illegal activities,” FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek said in a statement.
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WE don’t need to support these morons for the next 10 years !!! Revoke his citizenship and deport back to Lebanon. Same for the 2 idiot females. They can reside over there.
While not a bad Idea, I think 200 years in Gitmo would be better!
This is just the TIP of that proverbial iceberg!
Sounds like a terrorist to me! 200 years in Gitmo is an appropriate sentence!