By SUSAN JONES
Six people from the Pittsburgh area were indicted March 25 by a federal grand jury in the September 2024 attack on a Jewish Pitt student in South Oakland.
The seven-count indictment named Muhammed Koc, 27, of Pittsburgh; Omar Alshmari, 28, of Monroeville; Abraham Choudhry, 22, of Monroeville; Emirhan Arslan, 24, of McKees Rocks; Ali Alkhaleel, 19, of Pittsburgh; and Adeel Piracha, 22, of Murrysville, as defendants.
Koc and Alshmari were charged with violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, while all six were charged with obstructing justice and conspiring to obstruct justice. Piracha, who was not present when the incident took place, is an alumnus of the University of Pittsburgh, but the other five have no Pitt affiliation.
The incident happened around 2 a.m. Sept. 27, 2024, near Semple and Ward streets. The student, who was wearing a Star of David necklace, reported that a group of six to eight men confronted him. One of the men, later identified at Koc, then allegedly shouted antisemitic comments at the student. According to the indictment, there was then a verbal exchange, in which Koc and at least one other person made more antisemitic comments.
“(The victim) stood his ground and asserted it was ‘dumb’ to insult someone for being Jewish … but was not physically aggressive towards any of the defendants,” according to the indictment.
Koc and Alshmari allegedly struck the victim, who suffered a split lip. The indictment charges Koc and Alshmari with willfully causing bodily injury to the victim because of the individual’s actual and perceived race and religion.
“Later that day, and throughout the following months, Piracha and the other defendants discussed the incident via social media messaging and group chats, during which Alshmari identified himself and Koc as two of the individuals listed in a University of Pittsburgh crime alert about the attack,” according to the indictment. “In subsequent conversations by text messaging, both Alshmari and Koc admitted to being involved in the attack on the victim.”
The charges also allege that the defendants conspired with one another to obstruct justice by, for example, agreeing to falsely align their testimony about the attack and providing false and misleading information before the federal grand jury.
“Violence that targets someone because of their religious beliefs is unacceptable in American society,” said Special Agent in Charge Richard Evanchec of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office in a news release. “Freedom of religion is a fundamental principle at the core of many communities across our nation. FBI Pittsburgh and our local, state, and federal partners stand committed to protecting all faith communities from acts of hatred and intimidation. Incidents such as this will be met with a swift, decisive law enforcement response as we will pursue those believed responsible with the full force of the law.”
For the hate crime and obstruction of justice counts, the law provides for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. For the conspiracy to obstruct justice count, the law provides for a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
Pitt Police assisted the FBI with the investigation. The University said in a statement: “We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their collaboration, which resulted in the arrests and arraignments announced today.”
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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