A Westchester County man was arrested for illegally possessing a loaded semi-automatic gun after cops stopped his car that was covered in swastikas and anti-Israel messages, prosecutors said.
Elmsford resident Hani Saleh, 47, was taken into custody Wednesday in White Plains when police found the weapon inside his car following the traffic stop, authorities said.
Saleh told police he was “trying to educate the public to the true events in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas,” according to a criminal complaint.
Prosecutors alleged a semi-automatic firearm that was loaded with ten .40 caliber rounds of ammunition was found under the driver’s seat of his car.
The hateful messages on his Volkswagen Passat included a Star of David and swastika intertwined and an American flag that had the white Nazi symbol where the 50 stars should be, according to photos from the complaint provided by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.
Saleh’s car also had “Hamas resistance is not terrorism” scrolled on it and “New ISIS” next to the American and Israeli flags, additional photos showed.
A photo circulating on social media that appears to be the same car shows a Palestinian flag on top of the vehicle.
Saleh told police he’s been stopped at multiple locations in Westchester because of the writings and depictions on his car and was in contact with the FBI as recently as last week due to his car, cops said in the complaint.
”I’m trying to educate the public on the true events in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. President Biden is a Zionist,” he allegedly said, adding he planned on driving to DC to protest the war.
Saleh was initially pulled over because had painted writings across his entire windshield, White Plains police said. The car was impounded because the license plate was allegedly fake, leading to the discovery of the gun, authorities said.
“I thank our federal and local law enforcement partners for working together expeditiously to seize the illegal firearm and apprehend this defendant,” District Attorney Mimi Rocah said in a statement.
He was arraigned Thursday in White Plains City Court on second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony, the district attorney’s office said.
He was remanded with his next court date set for Nov. 2.