Person accused of vandalizing Jewish buildings pleads guilty
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Person accused of vandalizing Jewish buildings pleads guilty
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02:04
One of the two people accused of vandalizing Jewish buildings in Pittsburgh has pleaded guilty.
In federal court on Thursday, Tayla Lubit confessed to spray painting hate on July 29, 2024, with her alleged co-conspirator Mohamad Hamad.
The two were indicted in November last year for allegedly putting antisemitic symbols on Chabad of Squirrel Hill’s synagogue and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s office building
Initially, Lubit pleaded not guilty, but on Thursday, that changed. The 24-year-old entered into a plea agreement with the government and admitted to vandalizing the religious buildings.
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Federal prosecutors say Lubit and her co-conspirator were acting on their hatred of Jewish people, which stemmed from the Hamas-Israel war.
Lubit and Hamad, as well as a third person, are also accused of conspiring to make and set off homemade explosives.
Shawn Brokos, director of community security with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, was at the court hearing on Thursday.
She said they are pleased with the outcome.
“Initially, this was described as a graffiti case,” Brokos said. “But often what we’ve seen in the Jewish community is that when you scratch below the surface, you will see that hatred directed at the Jews or those in support of Israel, and that bears out today with the facts we saw presented during the plea agreement.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen at the tail end of the 2025 NFL season amidst struggles at the position. Thielen had returned to the Minnesota Vikings in 2025, the team that drafted him for which he carved out a very respectable career before signing with the Carolina Panthers in 2023.
Thielen appeared in five regular season games with the Steelers, catching 11 passes. He joined Good Morning Football on Monday and was asked about his experience in Pittsburgh, to which he couldn’t say enough nice things.
“What an amazing experience,” Thielen said. “First of all, just to experience the Pittsburgh Steelers organization. it was so cool to see it first hand. You hear a lot about it, you play against it, but you don’t really understand it until you get in that building. You just feel the culture and just kind of see how it’s different. It’s a family-owned business and it’s got that family aspect to it that they’re always in the building, they’re always around – it’s a really cool place.”
Thielen then discussed his time with Aaron Rodgers, and praised the four-time MVP for his approach to the game.
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“Being around Aaron, I’ve known him for a long time,” Thielen said. “Played a lot of golf with him, built a strong relationship with him outside of football. But to seem in the building and in practice and his communication and the way he does things and his detail, it really showed me why he’s been so great for so long. A lot of times… you just think, ‘Oh, they’re really skilled…‘ these guys are great and separate themselves because of their process. He treated every single practice like it was the Super Bowl. it was unbelievable to see first hand just how hard he practiced, what it meant to him, how much communication there was through the week of trying to get everybody on the same page – whether that be coaches or players. So it was really cool to see that first hand and get to know him on the football side of things.”
Thielen retired after the 2025 season, finishing his career with 704 catches for 8,497 yards and 64 touchdowns.
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(File Photo of a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Car)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
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(Pittsburgh, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Pittsburgh reported Friday that a 19-year-old New Castle man was charged for tailgating following a two-vehicle crash in Pittsburgh on May 11th.
Christopher Glidden Jr. was driving on Interstate 376 West near the Boulevard of the Allies ramp at about 5:23 p.m. when he rear-ended a vehicle driven by 32-year-old Kimberly Brooks of Pittsburgh, according to police.
Police said both drivers were attempting to merge into the left lane at the time of the crash. Brooks suffered a suspected minor injury and was transported from the scene.
