Dawood Faisal, 22, [peas be up in him] was arraigned Monday on hate crime charges for twice vandalizing a kosher bagel shop in Queens that displayed Israeli flags. The incidents came days before he allegedly caused the fatal crash that killed Cara Trager, the mother of a former Trump Middle East adviser.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz charged Faisal with two counts of criminal mischief in the third degree as a hate crime for the May 15 and May 23 incidents at Bagels & Co. in the heavily Jewish Fresh Meadows neighborhood.
Prosecutors say he targeted the Jewish-owned shop on Union Turnpike because of the Israeli flags and banners. On May 15 he knocked over nine metal plant stands, spilled dirt and plants onto the sidewalk, and threw dirt at the storefront twice. He returned around 1 a.m. on May 23, pushed and kicked 11 metal plant stands, emptied their contents, and uprooted plants from a large clay pot after failing to knock it over.
“As alleged, Dawood Faisal, repeatedly targeted a Fresh Meadows business specifically because it is Jewish-owned and featured Israeli flags, and destroyed property as an expression of antisemitism,” Katz said in a statement. “Bias crimes are an affront to our entire community and will not be tolerated.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Hartofilis ordered Faisal to return to court on November 12. Conviction on the hate crime charges carries up to seven years in prison.
Faisal already faces manslaughter and assault charges from the May 25 crash. Prosecutors allege he drove a Toyota Prius more than 75 mph in a 35 mph zone, ran at least two red lights, and collided with two vehicles on Francis Lewis Boulevard. One vehicle was sent into a crosswalk, striking Cara Trager, 71, and her husband Michael as they walked home from dinner. Cara suffered severe head trauma and died four days later. Michael sustained a shoulder injury, cuts to his hands, and facial bruising. Faisal pleaded not guilty to those charges after his June indictment.
The second bagel shop incident occurred just two days before the crash. Cara’s daughter, Rachel Sales, later wrote that her mother had discussed the vandalism with her shortly beforehand. The family has questioned whether authorities could have intervened after the alleged attacks and prevented the death. Officials are not treating the crash as a hate crime.
Michael Trager told The Daily Wire in August that the circumstances warrant scrutiny given the neighborhood and the timing. “My contention is that the area itself is very, very Jewish,” he said. “It’s Bukharian, it’s a Russian Jewish area, and most of the people who were eyewitnesses, the people who detained him, were Bukharian Jews.”
He described the moment of the crash. “The first thing I did was I started punching myself to say, ‘Oh, gee, I’m still alive here,’” Michael recalled. “Then I saw that my wife was dead. I couldn’t believe it happened because I didn’t do anything wrong. We were crossing the street, and next thing I know, I’m on the ground with my wife.”
Michael attended Faisal’s initial arraignment days after the crash while Cara was hospitalized and dying. “I was afraid that my wife was going to officially die when I’m at the arraignment, but I went,” he said. Faisal’s family was present. His mother repeatedly cried in the courtroom. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘What are you crying for? Are you crying for your son, or are you crying because your son killed my wife? Why are you crying?’” Michael said.
Authorities told Michael that Faisal was neither working nor attending school and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Michael noted that an act of that nature in that area at that time made it more likely the victim would be Jewish, though he acknowledged it did not prove specific targeting. “If you’re going to do that kind of act in that area, at that time, you’re more than likely, if you’re going to kill somebody, to kill a Jew,” he said.
Cara Trager was a longtime Queens journalist active in the Jewish community. She wrote for Newsday, the New York Post, and Crain’s New York Business and produced materials for organizations including UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Theological Seminary.
NYPD data for July showed Jews were the targets of nearly 70% of confirmed hate crimes reported in New York City that month, despite making up roughly 10% of the city’s population.
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“As alleged, Dawood Faisal, repeatedly targeted a Fresh Meadows business specifically because it is Jewish-owned and featured Israeli flags, and destroyed property as an expression of antisemitism,” Katz said in a statement. “Bias crimes are an affront to our entire community and will not be tolerated.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Hartofilis ordered Faisal to return to court on November 12. Conviction on the hate crime charges carries up to seven years in prison.
Faisal already faces manslaughter and assault charges from the May 25 crash. Prosecutors allege he drove a Toyota Prius more than 75 mph in a 35 mph zone, ran at least two red lights, and collided with two vehicles on Francis Lewis Boulevard. One vehicle was sent into a crosswalk, striking Cara Trager, 71, and her husband Michael as they walked home from dinner. Cara suffered severe head trauma and died four days later. Michael sustained a shoulder injury, cuts to his hands, and facial bruising. Faisal pleaded not guilty to those charges after his June indictment.
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The second bagel shop incident occurred just two days before the crash. Cara’s daughter, Rachel Sales, later wrote that her mother had discussed the vandalism with her shortly beforehand. The family has questioned whether authorities could have intervened after the alleged attacks and prevented the death. Officials are not treating the crash as a hate crime.
Michael Trager told The Daily Wire in August that the circumstances warrant scrutiny given the neighborhood and the timing. “My contention is that the area itself is very, very Jewish,” he said. “It’s Bukharian, it’s a Russian Jewish area, and most of the people who were eyewitnesses, the people who detained him, were Bukharian Jews.”
He described the moment of the crash. “The first thing I did was I started punching myself to say, ‘Oh, gee, I’m still alive here,’” Michael recalled. “Then I saw that my wife was dead. I couldn’t believe it happened because I didn’t do anything wrong. We were crossing the street, and next thing I know, I’m on the ground with my wife.”
Michael attended Faisal’s initial arraignment days after the crash while Cara was hospitalized and dying. “I was afraid that my wife was going to officially die when I’m at the arraignment, but I went,” he said. Faisal’s family was present. His mother repeatedly cried in the courtroom. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘What are you crying for? Are you crying for your son, or are you crying because your son killed my wife? Why are you crying?’” Michael said.
Authorities told Michael that Faisal was neither working nor attending school and was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Michael noted that an act of that nature in that area at that time made it more likely the victim would be Jewish, though he acknowledged it did not prove specific targeting. “If you’re going to do that kind of act in that area, at that time, you’re more than likely, if you’re going to kill somebody, to kill a Jew,” he said.
Cara Trager was a longtime Queens journalist active in the Jewish community. She wrote for Newsday, the New York Post, and Crain’s New York Business and produced materials for organizations including UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Theological Seminary.
NYPD data for July showed Jews were the targets of nearly 70% of confirmed hate crimes reported in New York City that month, despite making up roughly 10% of the city’s population.
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