Thirteen members of the Hasidic Jewish community plead not guilty this week to charges stemming from their alleged role in a dispute over an illegal tunnel built beneath a historic Brooklyn synagogue.
The defendants, some of them international students from Israel, appeared in Brooklyn court yesterday on charges of reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and obstruction of governmental administration. They were issued a limited protection order that bars them from making any excavations or alterations to the building.
Prosecutors say the defendants — who ranged in age from 19 to 26 — were involved in a January 8 melee in the basement of the global headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch. The dispute erupted after the discovery of an underground passage connecting four buildings within the famed Jewish complex.
When Chabad leaders moved to seal the tunnel, characterizing it as a rogue act of vandalism, a group of young men fought back, ripping the wooden siding off the synagogue and refusing to leave the dusty passage. Their protest escalated as police arrived, leading to a chaotic scuffle and more than $1,500 in property damage, according to court papers.
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From the Liveblog of
Thursday, April 11, 2024
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