Suspect in Brooklyn Chabad HQ ramming incident appears in court
The man accused of repeatedly ramming his car into Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn appeared in court Friday.
Dan Sohail, 36, of Carteret, New Jersey, was arraigned on hate crime charges. Sohail faces charges of attempted assault, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and aggravated harassment, all as hate crimes.
He is being held on $500,000 cash bail. He did not enter a plea Friday; that will likely come at his next court appearance on Tuesday.
Attorney says suspect identifies as Jewish
During the arraignment, Sohail's attorney said his client identifies as Jewish and has no animosity towards Jewish people. He also said Sohail suffers from mental health issues, according to his mother.
CBS News New York spoke briefly to Sohail's mother Friday. She referred us to his defense attorney to "tell the family's side of the story." We are waiting to hear back.
Sohail had previous encounters with Chabad in Brooklyn. Video verified by CBS News New York shows him in the building he allegedly attacked less than two weeks earlier, dancing and interacting with yeshiva students. Sohail's attorney said his client was there to attend a bar mitzvah.
Cellphone video obtained by CBS News New York shows a black sedan slamming into the front doors of Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights as hundreds were praying inside Wednesday night.
Police say they have surveillance video showing Sohail parking his car blocks away, walking to the building, removing barricades and snow, and then getting back into his car and driving straight into the doors of the building.
When he was arrested, Sohail told officers his foot slipped off the gas pedal, according to police.
"When he was removed from the car, he stated that his foot slipped, and during the debriefing, he stated he lost control of the car because he was wearing clunky boots," NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.
Bodycam video shows suspect outside N.J. Chabad
Police in South Brunswick, New Jersey, said they responded to a call reporting a disturbance outside a Chabad there in November 2025 and encountered Sohail.
New bodycam video sent to CBS News New York on Friday shows the interaction between Sohail, a rabbi and an officer.
"We're having a talk," the rabbi says.
"You're having a talk? What's going wrong?" the officer says.
"Nothing's going wrong," Sohail says.
"Alright, we got a call that something was going on today," the officer says.
In the video, Sohail describes himself as homeless and admits yelling "I'm done" in frustration outside the building in the moments prior.
"I'm struggling. My family doesn't like me. So I just came here to talk to the rabbi about it," Sohail says.
