Federal authorities have arrested a former Pennsylvania Air National Guard member described as a Hamas sympathizer and a Pittsburgh Jewish woman in connection with the vandalism of two Jewish organizations in the city over the summer.

Mohamad Hamad, 23, of Coraopolis, and Talya A. Lubit, 24, of Pittsburgh, face misdemeanor charges of defacing and damaging religious property and conspiracy.

Investigators said they linked the two to the vandalism at Chabad of Squirrel Hill and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh through surveillance video, physical evidence and texts sent on the encrypted messaging app Signal.

According to a 20-page criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday, Hamad, who is both a U.S. and Lebanese citizen, is a member of the Moon Air National Guard. However, he has been banned from the Moon unit since September 13.

The Air National Guard referred questions to the FBI on Thursday.

An FBI spokesman in Pittsburgh said he could not answer any questions about Hamad’s time with the Air National Guard, what his duties were there or anything else.

The Jewish Federation said Lubit was connected to the Pittsburgh Jewish community by attending various events.

As part of a joint investigation with Pittsburgh police, agents said they learned Hamad bought explosives online in June under an alias and texted someone about preparing for a test explosion. However, Hamad is not charged to any account related to that purchase.

Both defendants appeared in U.S. District Court on Wednesday and were released on $50,000 unsecured bonds. They will remain on home detention with GPS monitoring and are scheduled for a preliminary hearing in the case on Nov. 6.

Videos and spray paint

According to the criminal complaint against Hamad and Lubit, Chabad of Squirrel Hill officials, a synagogue on Beechwood Avenue, they discovered graffiti on the outside of their building on the morning of July 29. “Jews 4 Palestine” was written in red spray paint on the outer stone, along with an inverted triangle, which is used as a pro-Hamas symbol.

The same day, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh reported that a sign at the entrance to its South Oakland location had been defaced with red paint, reading “Funds Genocide Jews, Hate Zionists” with a red heart.

Investigators used video surveillance from the two locations to track the car used by the suspects that night.

Chabad surveillance video showed a convertible pulling up at 1:46 am. A person carrying a white box got out and ran across the lawn to the sign.

The suspect was wearing a black head covering that left only his eyes visible. A short time later, the person ran back to the car and drove off.

At 2:23 a.m., investigators said a similar vehicle pulled into the Jewish Federation parking lot and stopped near the entrance sign.

License plate cameras and video surveillance tracked the vehicle, which had Ohio plates, as frequent travelers to Oakland and Squirrel Hill.

The vehicle was eventually followed to Hamad’s residence in Coraopolis, the complaint states.

When investigators searched Hamad’s home and vehicles on Aug. 6, they found his BMW convertible matched the vehicles in the surveillance videos.

They also found a can of paint and a hoodie with the words “RESPECT EXISTENCE OR EXPECT RESISTANCE”.

According to the investigation, Hamad used his debit card to purchase “Strawberry Fields,” a red, high-gloss Rust-Oleum spray paint, at the Walmart in Robinson the day before.

Video and footage from the store that day show Hamad buying the paint and leaving in a convertible.

On Hamad’s phone, investigators also found searches for “Chabad of Squirrel Hill.”

Link to Lubit

A string of Signal messages with Lubit on Hamad’s phone since June 1 revealed that he discussed his desire to travel abroad to engage in violence, the complaint states.

“My ultimate goal in life is Shaheed, everything else doesn’t matter as much, to me you are Jewish so that is more than allowed to me,” said one message included in the complaint.

Shaheed is a term used in the Islamic faith to describe a martyr.

“My goal sets are very different from the average person,” Hamad wrote, according to the complaint. “I don’t see myself living long;” and “It’s really hard for me to think long term.”

Hamad also wrote, “But my heart yearns to be with my brothers across the ocean.”

In another Signal message with another person, Hamad sent a photo of what investigators believe is him wearing a black mask in a bathroom at his home, holding a combination of an American and Israeli flag with what appear to be the words “We are with Israel. “

“When the associate replied, ‘Pull up looking like that,'” Hamad replied, “I really did lmao. Imagine the terror they would have seen if they had cams. Hamas agent rips up flags in white suburb.”

The day after investigators executed search warrants on Hamad and seized her cell phone, the complaint said, Lubit did a factory reset on her phone.

However, investigators were able to retrieve her messages to Hamad from his phone.

On July 27, investigators said, she wrote: “If I join you in graffitiing this building, it matters to me that it is done tastefully. But any bank or anything that isn’t a religious institution I’m happy to throw away.”

“I wish I knew how to damn paint.”

She continued: “We only have one shot because after that they will have a lot more surveillance. I think it’s wise for them to see other buildings like PNC and stuff first. So I’m not like “you’re targeting the Jews”.

She then wrote: “Oh (expletive). i will do it The thing. The decoration of Chabad.”

Four minutes later, Lubit wrote: “Trying to make it ugly and unpleasant feels like a desecration bordering on the religious place.”

“Like right before the line.”

Then a few minutes later, “I literally feel myself beginning to see the Jews as my enemies.”

The next day, according to the criminal complaint, Lubit wrote: “It scares me that I want to get revenge. I can feel it. Like, I’m ANGRY. I’m tired of feeling like being Jewish means I have to think I’m against oppression. I won’t survive being a Jew if I don’t learn to get over it. I will end up abandoning him.”

“I’m tired of the voice in my head telling me that a Jew wouldn’t go with the oppressed.”

There were a string of additional messages from Lubit, investigators said:

“Every day I think, ‘I don’t want to be Jewish anymore'”

“This feels like a last ditch effort to remain Jewish.”

“Actually, you gave me hope.”

Although no charges have been filed as a result of Hamad’s purchase of explosives, the complaint noted that he purchased four kilograms of explosives under the name “Chris Petrenko” on June 10.

In Signal messages to a known associate, Hamad said he planned to practice igniting “a large casing” on July 6 “as practice for a future explosion,” the complaint said. Another message from June 29 mentioned “Talya”.

Hamad also shared a video of an explosive device detonating and a corresponding fireball with the message “Hell Yeah” with a heart emoji and a smiley face.

A different feeling

Shawn Brokos, director of community safety for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said incidents of anti-Semitic vandalism have increased since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

But the two courts charged in this week’s criminal complaint, she said, felt different.

“These particular incidents felt much more threatening, much more targeted,” she said.

Brokos, a former FBI agent, said the criminal complaint outlines Hamad’s trajectory.

“You can see that path to radicalization by reading the affidavit,” she said.

Brokos praised the investigation, including the community’s effort to support law enforcement by reporting suspicious activity and checking their own Ring ringtones and other videos for potential information.

“This is critical to keeping our community safe,” Brokos said.