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A man from New York has admitted to federal hate crime charges after attacking Jewish counter-protesters at anti-Israel demonstrations in New York City during 2024 and 2025. He entered a guilty plea to one charge as part of a deal made during a court session on Wednesday.
Tarek Bazrouk, aged 20, appeared in federal court for a status hearing. He had faced three hate crime charges for allegedly attacking Jewish individuals at three protests in New York City connected to the Israel-Hamas conflict. His indictment was issued by a grand jury last month.
During the hearing, Bazrouk pled guilty to one charge as part of an agreement involving a superseding information document, which effectively replaces the original indictment in this criminal case.
A bearded Bazrouk appeared in court wearing a tan jumpsuit and black eyeglasses and shuffled through papers while waiting for the hearing to get underway.
He was arrested by the NYPD for lunging at a group of pro-Israel protesters, the DOJ said, and kicked a Jewish college student in the stomach while being taken to a patrol vehicle. The person he kicked was standing near Jewish protesters wearing kippahs, waving Israeli flags and singing Jewish songs.
Bazrouk allegedly assaulted another Jewish student Dec. 9, 2024, during a protest near a university in upper Manhattan, the DOJ said. The second victim was with his brother – both were wearing kippahs – and had an Israeli flag draped across his shoulders while singing Jewish songs.
Anti-Israel protesters march through Midtown Manhattan. (Stephen Yang for Fox News Digital)
Bazrouk was accused of stealing their flag and running off. The victim and his brother chased him through the crowd to retrieve it, and after they got it back, Bazrouk allegedly sneaked up beside the second victim and punched him in the face.
At the beginning of this year, on Jan. 6, Bazrouk allegedly committed his third assault on a Jewish person at a protest in Manhattan. The third victim had an Israeli flag draped around his shoulders and was wearing a hat with the flag and a chain with the Star of David.
Bazrouk was wearing a keffiyeh on his face when he allegedly “made contact” with the third victim’s shoulder and wrapped his foot around his ankle. When the victim attempted to push him away, Bazrouk allegedly cursed at him and punched him in the nose.
Law enforcement obtained warrants to search a cellphone allegedly used by Bazrouk, which revealed an “antisemitic bias” and “support for anti-Jewish terrorist groups, including Hamas,” the DOJ said, citing court documents.
Bazrouk allegedly identified himself as a “Jew hater” in text messages, called Jewish people “worthless” and said “Allah” wanted “us [to] rid of [Jews],” among other vulgar statements, according to the documents.
The documents added he told a friend he was “mad happy” when he found out family members overseas were part of Hamas.
The DOJ described his phone as “littered with pro-Hamas and pro-Hizballah (sic) propaganda.”
Fox News Digital’s Kirill Clark and Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.
