Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 19, 2021

The Toledo Jewish community is breathing a sigh of relief after an Ohio man who planned to provide material support to ISIS and attack two Toledo-area synagogues was sentenced to 20 years in prison Sept. 13.

Damon M. Joseph, 23, of Holland Village in Lucas County, whose alias is Abdullah Ali Yusuf, pleaded guilty May 18 to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and attempting to commit a hate crime.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo said in a statement to the Cleveland Jewish News that Josephs intention to bring terror, injury and death to the community brought fear and angst that lingers to this day.

The sentence reflects the communitys rejection of his hate and punishes him appropriately, the statement said. Hate crimes are intended to intimidate and strike fear in our community and are antithetical to values adopted at our nations founding.

The arrest was made on Dec. 7, 2018, only a few weeks after a shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh which killed 11 people on Oct. 27, 2018.

With the recency of that attack, as well as the current rise of antisemitism in Ohio and across the region, James Pasch, regional director of the Anti-Defamation Leagues Cleveland office, said Josephs threats are a clear reminder of the need to remain continually vigilant and strident in the fight against antisemitism.

His actions and goals were unconscionable, Pasch told the CJN on Sept. 15. And we thank law enforcement and the U.S. Attorneys Office for working together to stop an attack from occurring.

According to court documents, Joseph originally drew the attention of law enforcement in late 2018 by posting photographs of weapons and various messages in support of ISIS on his social media accounts, as well as a photograph originally distributed by the media wing of ISIS.

According to a release by the U.S. Department of Justice, Joseph had researched when the Jewish sabbath would be in order to ensure more people would be present.

He planned to attack Temple Shomer Emunim and Congregation Bnai Israel, which share a campus with the Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo and the Jewish Community Center in Sylvania, a suburb of Toledo.

Joseph was represented by lawyers Neil McElroy and Peter G. Rost, attorneys in Toledo. Rost had previously told the CJN the plea arrangement discussed in court would sentence Joseph to 20 years in prison.

Given that there was an agreed upon sentence, the government and Joseph agreed 20 years was a fair sentence, McElroy told the CJN on Sept. 14.

He said the only variable going into the sentence was whether the judge would agree to impose the sentence, so there was no surprise on Josephs part.

Unlike other sentences, when defendants may be surprised or the public may be surprised, Mr. Joseph had ample time to come to grips with the sentence that would be imposed, McElroy said.

Beginning in September 2018, Joseph engaged in a series of online conversations with several undercover FBI agents where he repeatedly expressed his support for ISIS.

The FBIs Joint Terrorism Task Force, comprised of over 50 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, investigated the case for weeks.

Shortly after gaining the attention of law enforcement, Joseph stated to an undercover agent that he wanted to participate in an attack on behalf of the terror group. On Dec. 2, 2018, Joseph forwarded a document to the agent that laid out his plans for such an attack on Jews who support the state of Israel. Joseph then stated that he did not necessarily see this as a martyrdom operation, but instead planned to escape alive and potentially combat with law enforcement.

The defendant planned to cause significant harm to members of the Toledo, Ohio, Jewish community by carrying out a violent federal hate crime, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division said in a statement Sept. 13. This sentence should send a strong message that those who target people with violence because of their religion, will be held to account. The Department of Justices Civil Rights Division will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute individuals who use violence to attack our religious communities.

On Dec. 4, 2018, Joseph met with an undercover FBI agent and discussed conducting a mass shooting at a synagogue. Joseph identified two synagogues in the Greater Toledo area as potential targets and discussed the types of weapons he believed would inflict mass casualties, including AR-1s and AK-47s.

Joseph met with an undercover agent to discuss more specifics of his plans, such as his desire to kill a rabbi. Later that day, the undercover agent told Joseph that he had purchased rifles for the attack.

The two met again Dec. 7, 2018 at a predetermined location, where Joseph took possession of a black duffel bag containing two semi-automatic rifles, which had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement officers so that they posed no danger to the public. Joseph was then arrested.

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After man gets 20 years for threats, Toledo Jewish community breathes sigh of relief - Cleveland Jewish News

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