NEW YORK (VINnews) – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced Wednesday that a New Jersey man pleaded guilty to damaging religious property after repeatedly ramming his vehicle into the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Brooklyn earlier this year.

Federal prosecutors said Dan Sohail, 36, of Carteret, New Jersey, entered the guilty plea in federal court before U.S. District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano. He faces prison time and restitution at sentencing.

According to court filings and statements made during the plea hearing, the attack occurred on the night of Jan. 28 at Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters on Eastern Parkway as the site hosted a gathering marking the anniversary of the death of the movement’s leader.

Prosecutors said Sohail exited his vehicle, moved protective barriers near the entrance and motioned for congregants to move away before repeatedly driving his car into a side entrance of the building. Authorities said he rammed the entrance five times, ultimately knocking the door off its hinges.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said the defendant “intentionally damaged the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters, a globally significant Jewish religious institution.”

“This prosecution underscores our Office’s commitment to ensuring that worshippers can gather safely and those who threaten religious institutions will be held accountable,” Nocella said.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon called the incident “a targeted attack on the religious liberty and peace of worship to which every American is entitled.”

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said attacks on houses of worship create fear far beyond the physical damage caused.

“At a time of rising threats against Jewish New Yorkers, attacks on places of worship carry deep fear far beyond the immediate damage they cause,” Tisch said.