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Press Release

Hassan Chokr Charged With Lying On A Federal Firearms Form When Seeking To Buy Three Firearms

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan

DETROIT – Hassan Chokr, the man who threatened preschoolers, parents, and other individuals outside a Jewish synagogue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, has been charged in a federal criminal complaint with lying on a federal firearms form when he sought to buy a shotgun, a rifle, and a semi-automatic pistol, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.   

Joining in the announcement were Special Agent-in-Charge James A. Tarasca, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Special Agent in Charge Paul D. Vanderplow, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Detroit Field Division.

Chokr, 35, of Dearborn, Michigan, is charged with attempting to purchase three firearms on December 2, 2022, at a federal firearms licensee in Dearborn, Michigan.  In seeking to make the purchases, Chokr filled out a federal firearms form.  On that form, Chokr falsely claimed that he had not been previously convicted of a felony.  He also falsely claimed that there were no felony charges currently pending against him.  However, Chokr was convicted in 2017 of Felony Financial Transaction Device – Stealing/Retaining Without Consent.  He also has a charge of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (Felonious Assault) currently pending against him in state court.  After Chokr submitted the firearms form at the gun store, his purchase was denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), and the firearms were not transferred to Chokr.  The three weapons that Chokr sought to purchase were as follows:  a Landor Arms, 12-gauge shotgun; a Del-ton, 5.56mm rifle; and a Glock, 9mm semi-automatic pistol. 

Chokr is currently charged by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office with ethnic intimidation based on his conduct outside of the Jewish synagogue on December 2, 2022.  The events at the Dearborn gun store that are the subject of the criminal complaint took place later in the day after the incident at the synagogue.  

The defendant faces a maximum of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of the offense. 

A criminal complaint is only a formal charging document and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frances Carlson, the Deputy Chief of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Updated December 15, 2022

Topic
Firearms Offenses