OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – A man accused of making antisemitic threats at an Oakland County temple will go to trial.
Hassan Chokr was arrested in December, accused of threatening pre-schoolers and their parents in front of Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills. He was charged with two counts of ethnic intimidation.
Judge Kimberly Small ruled the case will move forward Thursday after determining there is enough evidence for trial.
Read: Man charged with ethnic intimidation goes off on Oakland County judge during hearing
Small said Chokr’s behavior showed clear intent to intimidate.
“There’s nothing random about this as the testimony in my mind showed,” she said. “The defendant made a deliberate, conscious choice about many things: the time, the place . . . his chosen victims.”
Chokr’s defense attorney Nabih Ayad disagreed with the decision, arguing his client’s actions are protected by free speech.
“There are individuals out there around this nation that have said worse things than what Mr. Chokr has said and the US Supreme Court has found that to be protected speech,” Ayad told Local 4. “That’s what makes this country greater than any other nation around the world is the power of the First Amendment.”
The defense plans to appeal this decision. In the meantime, Chokr remains behind bars on a million dollar bond.
Read: Witnesses testify in ethnic intimidation case after man made threats outside Bloomfield Hills temple