A Queens man already locked up for a fatal hit-and-run now faces hate crime charges for trashing a kosher bagel shop — and the case lays bare how prosecutors punish your thoughts, not just your actions.
Dawood Faisal, 22, was indicted on hate crime enhancements for vandalizing Bagels & Co. in Fresh Meadows on May 15 and May 23, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office. The shop is Jewish-owned and displayed Israeli flags and banners. Faisal allegedly knocked over metal plant stands, hurled dirt at the building, and uprooted greenery from a large clay pot across both incidents. Property destruction — already a crime on the books. But Queens DA Melinda Katz tacked on hate crime raps because she says she can prove Faisal targeted the business "specifically because it is Jewish-owned."
"As alleged, Dawood Faisal repeatedly targeted a Fresh Meadows business specifically because it is Jewish-owned and featured Israeli flags, and destroyed property as an expression of antisemitism," Katz said in a statement. "Bias crimes are an affront to our entire community and will not be tolerated."
Notice what happened: the same act — knocking over plant stands and throwing dirt — carries a heavier penalty because of who owns the building and what flags hung outside. Vandalism is vandalism. The damage to the plant stands doesn't change based on the owner's religion. But under hate crime law, the punishment does. That is two-tiered justice by definition. The state is literally deciding which motivations deserve extra prison time based on identity politics.
Two days after the second vandalism incident, on May 25, Faisal allegedly blew through a red light doing 75 mph in a 35 mph zone in his 2013 Toyota Prius, striking 71-year-old Cara Trager and her husband Michael on Francis Lewis Boulevard. Cara Trager died. Michael survived and has since pushed to have the fatal hit-and-run itself designated a hate crime, citing the prior vandalism pattern.
"What I am alleging was that he was in a Jewish area, a very heavy Jewish area," Michael Trager said. "And though he did not necessarily try to kill Cara Trager or injure Michael Trager or kill Michael Trager for that matter, it was a good likelihood that if he was gonna do that activity, it's going to be more than likely hurt a Jewish person."
Faisal fled the scene after the crash but bystanders held him until police arrived. He was indicted in June on manslaughter and assault charges. The hate crime vandalism indictment came this week.
The fatal hit-and-run charges stand without hate enhancements — for now. But the logic being applied to the bagel shop vandalism invites the question: if the government can escalate your sentence for property damage based on what you were thinking, where does it stop? Manslaughter already carries serious time. The plant stands already carry penalties. Prosecutors don't need to read minds to lock someone up — unless they want to send a message about which victims matter more.
