GUILTY CT - Ted Hakey for shooting at mosque, Meriden, 2015

A Connecticut man was charged on Friday with a federal hate crime offense for allegedly shooting at the mosque he lived near after spending the night drinking at a local bar following the deadly Paris attacks by Islamic State militants on Nov. 13.

Prosecutors said Ted Hakey, 48, of Meriden, fired four shots at the building in the early morning hours of Nov. 14 after learning of the Paris attacks. The Baitul Aman Mosque was vacant at the time of the shooting and no one was injured.

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If convicted of intentionally damaging religious property with a dangerous weapon, Hakey could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and fined up to $250,000.

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Ted Hakey Jr., 48, of Meriden was taken into custody Thursday and appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge Friday morning. He is being held for the time being and will have a detention hearing Dec. 21.

Hakey is a former U.S. Marine, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. He has five rifles ranging in caliber from .223 to .338 registered. His wife also has a rifle registered to her and a 9mm handgun. Any of the rifles could have been. been used, according to the affidavit.

Hakey lives next door to the mosque and fired several rounds using his high-powered rifle during the early morning hours of Nov. 14, according to the affidavit

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Montjoy said:

I hope he does some serious time for this.

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pappa rob said:

He's a real triple threat alright!

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bluesneakers said:

I hope so too. This could have gone much worse.

He's the trifecta of being a bad neighbor: xenophobia, alcohol, guns.

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Montjoy said:

Sadly, that describes the trifecta of being an awesome neighbor for far too many people!

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Montjoy said:

I hope he does some serious time for this.

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bwt42 said:

Assuming you believe prison time is to rehabilitate, what do you think an appropriate sentence would be. If my assumption is wrong, what should the sentence and the purpose of it be?

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Montjoy said:

Good questions. I hope I have answered them as well as I can below.

First, I think that there are multiple reasons to imprison someone. Yes, rehabilitation is probably the main one, but punishment is part of rehab -- in that it can teach someone that there are consequences to actions. Part of the reason to imprison is to show others that a type of action is inappropriate/illegal.

As for how long the sentence should be -- in all honesty, I can't even guess. When I mean 'serious time', I mean 'enough time for the person incarcerated to consider his or her actions. This was not a simple vandalism case -- it was closer to (but not as bad as) a drunk driving or attempted murder case, for the legal reason that lethal force was used. This person could have killed someone.

Moreover, and I suspect that this will be less popular with some, I do think that the hatred against a group (in this case, a religion) should be seen as an aggravating factor. To fail to punish those who believe it is legitimate to assault people based on characteristics that are protected by the first amendment is more than an affront to the constitution.

So, as for how long this fellow should spend in prison -- it should be long enough for him to recognize that what he did was nothing less than an assault on the country he once swore to protect. I do not know enough about sentencing, but all things considered, it should be at least one year, and less than three. This is not just a case of someone firing his gun irresponsibly.

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Federal prosecutors are saying that a man from Meriden accused of firing shots at a mosque following the Paris attacks is a danger to the community during his court appearance on Monday morning.

The Baitul Amam Mosque is located right next door to his home on Main Street.

After a night of drinking, investigators said Hakey claimed he was aiming at a wood pile and repeatedly told police he had no ill will toward his neighbors at the mosque.

On the day of the shooting, the FBI said Hakey sent a text message.

"If the Muslims attack over here again, it's over for them," he wrote. "Americans will snap and play cowboys and Muslims. It will get ugly."

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Hakey will remain in jail until his detention hearing , which was continued until 2:30 p.m. at US District Court in New Haven. The hearing will decide whether or not to set bond.

The attorney for Hakey, Jeffrey Cohen, declined comment on Monday, but is expected to speak after Monday’s hearing.

If Hakey is convicted of intentionally damaging religious property, he faces 20 years in prison

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A federal prosecutor argued during a detention hearing Monday that a Meriden resident and former U.S. Marine accused of firing gunshots at a South Meriden mosque should remain in custody until a trial is held or charges are resolved.

The hearing was continued until next Monday, when a defense attorney plans to plead the case for the release of Ted Hakey Jr. Hakey was arrested Thursday night in the November shooting at Baitul Aman Mosque. He was charged with damages to religious property, a federal crime carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The charge is considered a hate crime by the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond Miller argued Monday that Hakey should be held without bond until there is a resolution to the case. While Hakey isn’t considered a flight risk, Miller said, he is a threat to the community.

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On Jan. 10, three days after the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, Hakey acknowledges in a Facebook conversation with an unidentified person that he lives next door to a mosque.

“I observe them with my binos (binoculars),” he wrote, according to the affidavit. “Way too many military aged males. Some days it’s ALL MEN!!”

“The next big attack on our country and it’s over for them!!” Hakey stated during the same Facebook conversation.

In July, Hakey wrote in a Facebook comment that “we must hunt down and kill radical Islam on our soil,” calling the president a ringleader, the affidavit states.

After a shooting in Chattanooga in July, Hakey made several derogatory comments about Muslims on Facebook. In one comment, he asked “is Muslim season open yet?” the affidavit states. “I’m in a target rich environment!”

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pappa rob said:

It sounds like they need to lock him up and throw away the key..

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Montjoy said:

People often ask why Muslims aren't doing anything about Muslim terrorists, or why the friends and neighbors of 'suspicious' Muslims aren't turning them in. (Neither question is fair, as they are.)

Here's a guy who has been posting violent, hateful stuff for ages -- and doing it on Facebook.

Why didn't anyone turn this guy in to the authorities? He's clearly been a terrorist waiting to emerge for quite some time.

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Hakey’s bail hearing began Dec. 21 and was to resume Dec. 28, but a judge postponed it to Jan. 4 at the request of Hakey’s attorney, Jeffrey Cohen, NBC reported.

Cohen says he needs time to respond to prosecutors’ claims that Hakey is too dangerous to be granted bail.
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Hakey is charged with intentionally damaging religious property through use of a dangerous weapon. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

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48 year old Ted Hakey Jr. has been placed under house arrest, placed with his mother and required to be confined to her home, wear a GPS tracking device and ordered not to use guns or alcohol.

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Here is how Dr. Mohammed Qureshi, president of the Connecticut chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, responded: He forgave his neighbor, saying "we feel that he didn't know us," and welcomed him to visit the mosque.

Dr. Qureshi offered no criticism of Mr. Hakey, saying only that "we are thankful to God that the person was found."

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