Pro-Hamas Monument Vandal Heads Off for Short Vacation—in Federal Prison

Fool around, find out. It’s a saying we’ve been using here since at least January 20, when Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second (non-consecutive) term as president, and it’s meant to describe that satisfying feeling you get when someone does something stupid (or worse) and finds out that the consequences aren’t so enjoyable.

On Friday, 26-year-old Hamas supporter Zaid Mohammed Mahdawi found out, and a judge sentenced him to 10 days in a federal pen for vandalizing historic monuments and covering them in red paint with slogans like “Hamas is Comin.”

Hamas is not coming, and they’re not going to break you out, Zaid:

Zaid Mahdawi defaced a national monument with hate-filled graffiti and now faces the consequences. Vandalism in the name of extremism won’t be tolerated. If you come to D.C. to destroy, you’ll pay. Literally. Make D.C. Safe AND Beautiful. https://t.co/SFXOtogrek pic.twitter.com/CfksiDLJvM

— U.S. Attorney Ed Martin (@USAEdMartin) April 4, 2025

He’s also going to have to perform a whole bunch of community service:

Zaid Mohammed Mahdawi, 26, the president of the Richmond, Va., chapter of American Muslims for Palestine, will also have to pay $1,500 in restitution and serve 80 hours of community service following his release, US District Judge James Boasberg ruled Friday.

Mahdawi pleaded guilty to destruction of government property, a misdemeanor, for his actions during July protests against visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Weirdly, the judge in the case was none other than James Boasberg, the jurist who seemingly considers himself the arbiter of federal policy in the United States. He’s the one who in March ordered the Trump administration’s deportation of violent illegal gangbangers to El Salvador to stop, and he went so far as to order that a plane carrying them immediately turn around (Team Trump ignored him and the flight proceeded as planned). Boasberg’s feelings were hurt and there’s been endless legal back and forth since.

Read Related: Let’s Take a Look at That Judge Who’s Trying to Thwart Trump’s Attempts to Jettison Violent Gangbangers

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Zaid Mohammed Mahdawi, 26, defaced a national monument in Washington DC on July 4, 2024 w/pro-terror graffiti.

Yesterday he was sentenced to 10 days in federal prison, followed by a 6 month term of supervision, community service, and a $1500 fine of restitution.

The judge?… pic.twitter.com/o6lupKFVVe

— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) April 5, 2025

The judge? None other than James Boasberg, the same man who stopped the deportation of Hamas affiliate Mahmoud Khalil.

The pro-terrorism vandal defaced a monument celebrating the explorer progressives love to hate, Christopher Columbus:

Prosecutors said video showed Mahdawi lowering the US flag from its pole in front of the Union Station train hub — with that flag then stolen by a fellow protester — before he climbed atop a monument to explorer Christopher Columbus and spray-painting it with the pro-terrorist group message.

The prison sentence comes as the Trump administration takes action to deport students living in the US on visas who partook in anti-Israel activism during the Jewish state’s war with Hamas, which was triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of about 1,200 people in southern Israel.

Fool around, find out. Enjoy your stay, Mr. Mahdawi. Too bad it isn’t a lot longer.