Thirteen members of the Hasidic Jewish community pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges stemming from their alleged role in a dispute over an illegal tunnel built beneath a historic Brooklyn synagogue.
The defendants, many of them international students from Israel, appeared in Brooklyn court Wednesday 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. They also cannot be in contact with a local rabbi.
Prosecutors say the defendants -- who ranged in age from 19 to 26 -- were involved in a Jan. 8 melee in the basement of the global headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch, a movement of Orthodox Judaism. The dispute erupted after the discovery of an underground passage connecting four buildings within the famed Jewish complex.
Proponents of the tunnel said they were carrying out the wishes of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the former Chabad leader and one of Judaism's most influential leaders, who spoke of expanding the densely-backed worship space before his death in 1994. Some members of the Chabad community believe Schneerson is still alive and that he is the messiah.
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 US$1,500 in property damage, according to court papers.
None of the men who were charged in the brawl were accused of digging the passage, which authorities described as a linear tunnel that was 60 foot (18.3 metres) long and 8 foot (2.4 metres) wide. In addition to the 13 people who pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, four others are expected to face charges when they return from Israel in the coming weeks.
An investigation by the Department of Buildings found the tunnel, which has since been filled with concrete, compromised the stability of several structures surrounding the religious complex, leading to vacate orders at four buildings.
A two-story building adjacent to the synagogue remains subject to a vacate order due to the removal of fire separating materials, according to a spokesperson for the buildings department.
An attorney for the defendants, Levi Huebner, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. He previously said his clients were suffering from "a combination of a little naivety and misintended good thoughts."
Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesperson for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, said in a text message: "We pray that they see the error of their ways and atone for the harm that they have caused."
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Sony's PlayStation Network went down for hours on Tuesday, frustrating gamers around the world who complained they weren't able to sign in to their accounts.
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Tim Walz and JD Vance will meet for their first and possibly only vice-presidential debate Tuesday, in what could be the last debate for both campaigns to argue their case before the U.S. election.
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Donald Trump repeatedly spread falsehoods Monday about the federal response to Hurricane Helene despite claiming not to be politicizing the disaster as he toured hard-hit areas in south Georgia.
A bus carrying young students with their teachers caught fire in suburban Bangkok on Tuesday, with more than 20 of those on board feared dead, officials and rescuers said.
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Dikembe Mutombo, a Basketball Hall of Famer who was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, died Monday after a battle with brain cancer, the league announced. He was 58.
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Premier Scott Moe has confirmed that the writ will be dropped Tuesday morning – officially kicking off campaigning prior to the provincial election on Oct. 28.
Exclusive polling data collected by Â鶹´«Ã½ in partnership with Insightrix outlines what preferences voters have, if they’re familiar with the party leaders and what issues matter most as Saskatchewan enters into the 2024 provincial election campaign.
With the writ for Saskatchewan's provincial election set to be issued on Tuesday and election day scheduled for Oct. 28, residents have approximately one month to decide which MLA to vote for.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $11,000 US from an inbound American citizen at the Ambassador Bridge.
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A section of Drouillard Road will close this week for an infrastructure renewal project.
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The New Democrats are campaigning for another term in British Columbia's provincial election but without many of the familiar faces that have graced lawn signs of elections past.
The residential “school†survivor whose story sparked Orange Shirt Day — and the “Every Child Matters†movement — says she is worried the cause is being forgotten.
Fire crews in Vernon, B.C., responded to a large house fire early Saturday morning.
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Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial is set to resume in a northeastern Ontario court today, with the defence expected to lay out its case.
Overnight on Thursday as the community of Elliot Lake was resting to prepare for the upcoming Kraft Hockeyville celebrations, when vandals struck a building that has been top of mind for the northern Ontario city for more than a year.
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He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
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