Hate trio faces jail time after pleading guilty in viral NYC Diamond District beating: ‘Great news’
Three antisemitic attackers who were caught on viral video beating a Jewish man in Midtown have pleaded guilty and now likely face at least several years behind bars — which the victim called “great news.”
Mahmoud Musa and Mohammed Othman copped to the charge of second-degree assault as a hate crime Wednesday for their roles in the vicious, infamous, May 20, 2021, assault of Joseph Borgen in the Diamond District.
Manhattan prosecutors offered no promised sentence in exchange for the guilty pleas, leaving the two men facing between 3 1/2 to 15 years behind bars at their Oct. 25 sentencing.
On Friday, a third attacker, Mohammed Said Othman, pleaded guilty to attempted gang assault in the violent clash, which was between Israel and Palestine supporters.
As part of Said Othman’s plea deal, prosecutors promised him a three-year sentence.
Borgen, 31, who was left with injuries including a concussion in the attack, told The Post that the guilty pleas were “great news,” adding that likely jail time for all three men sends the unambiguous message that “If you beat up a Jew in the streets, this is what’s going to happen. …You’re not going to get a slap on the wrist or a BS deal. You’re going to spend real time in jail.”
This past summer, Borgen became upset when another defendant in the case, Waseem Awawdeh, 24, got off on a light plea deal in which he received just 18 months behind bars.
The victim was particularly outraged because Awawdeh said from his jail cell that he’d “do it again.”
“Why is he getting a break? I really can’t fathom why he’s getting a deal,” Borgen said at the time. “Me, personally, I wanted to go to trial, I wanted to see full justice.”
Nicholas Ramcharitar, a lawyer for Mohammed Othman said of his case, “It became clear to Mr. Othman that accepting responsibility for his nonsubstantial role in the events that took place during the riots was something he felt he needed to do.”
The melee began in the Diamond District when a pickup truck full of Palestinian flag-waiving protesters shot a firework from the vehicle into a crowd of Israeli activists who came out during renewed hostilities between the groups in the Middle East.
Video of the fight went viral.
Borgen, who was wearing a yarmulke, was pepper-sprayed by a pack of men as they hurled antisemitic slurs at him.
He was left with a concussion, wrist injury, black eye and bruises all over his body.
Borgen said he thought he was “going to die” in the “cowardly” attack. He said he has had to undergo two surgeries on his wrist and physical therapy but is “still in pain every day” despite the treatments.
“Antisemitic attacks will not be tolerated in Manhattan, and these guilty pleas demonstrate the accountability my office will seek for crimes motivated by hate and bias,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
“We will prosecute those who harm our fellow New Yorkers because of their religious faith or background and work closely with our communities to address the root causes of hate crimes to prevent others from being harmed,” Bragg said.
