Woman accused of vandalizing Jewish buildings in Pittsburgh pleads guilty
One of the two people accused of vandalizing Jewish buildings in Pittsburgh has pleaded guilty.
In federal court on Thursday, Tayla Lubit confessed to spray painting hate on July 29, 2024, with her alleged co-conspirator Mohamad Hamad.
The two were indicted in November last year for allegedly putting antisemitic symbols on Chabad of Squirrel Hill's synagogue and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh's office building
Initially, Lubit pleaded not guilty, but on Thursday, that changed. The 24-year-old entered into a plea agreement with the government and admitted to vandalizing the religious buildings.
Federal prosecutors say Lubit and her co-conspirator were acting on their hatred of Jewish people, which stemmed from the Hamas-Israel war.
Lubit and Hamad, as well as a third person, are also accused of conspiring to make and set off homemade explosives.
Shawn Brokos, director of community security with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, was at the court hearing on Thursday.
She said they are pleased with the outcome.
"Initially, this was described as a graffiti case," Brokos said. "But often what we've seen in the Jewish community is that when you scratch below the surface, you will see that hatred directed at the Jews or those in support of Israel, and that bears out today with the facts we saw presented during the plea agreement."
