A Texas man facing hate-crime charges for spray painting “Fuck Israel” on to the wall of a non-denominational church was sentenced to six months in jail after a judge overruled a jury recommendation that he only receive community supervision.
Raunaq Alam, 32, and two other people were arrested in 2024 in connection with the graffiti on the wall of Uncommon Church. The church was flying the Israeli flag and has published several social media posts about their support for the Israeli government and military, which many experts say is committing genocide in Gaza.
Alam was ultimately released from jail on a $20,000 bond – only to be arrested again less than two weeks later. This time, prosecutors in Fort Worth allege he made false statements about drug use during his original trial. Another bond – this one for $40,000 – was required to free him from jail, along with mandated house arrest and an electronic monitor on his leg.
Alam has now been arrested five separate times in connection with the same allegations, as Tarrant county prosecutors added additional charges.
Police records from the initial graffiti arrest in March 2024 showed the damages were less than $200, but last autumn prosecutors said they were greater than $750, increasing the potential sentence for criminal mischief.
The county then added a hate crimes enhancement to Alam’s charges because the graffiti targeted “a group identified by national origin and/or ancestry and/or religion, namely, the state of Israel or Jewish faith”.
Alam’s defense argued that if saying “Fuck America” is protected under the first amendment, then saying “Fuck Israel” is also a matter of free speech and not a hate crime. Adwoa Asante, one of his attorneys, also pointed out that Israel is a state, not a protected class.
The jury agreed, rejecting the hate crimes enhancement, while finding Alam guilty of criminal mischief, ordering him to pay a fine of $10,000 but not recommending jail time.
Judge Brian Bolton, however, overruled the recommendation and added 180 days of incarceration, calling the graffiti “disgusting”.
The Tarrant county district attorney’s office said in a statement: “The law allows the judge to set terms and conditions of probation, including 180 days in the Tarrant County Jail.”
The high-profile case comes amid a clampdown on protest across the US, particularly involving Trump administration accusations against higher education institutions and their professors of antisemitism for their support of the Palestinian cause.
University of California, Berkeley, recently gave the Trump administration the names of 160 faculty members and students as part of an investigation into “alleged antisemitic incidents”.
Afsheen Khan, one of the three arrested for the graffiti, is slated for trial this fall.
