A Tarrant County pro-Palestinian activist who was charged with and later acquitted of a hate crime for writing an anti-Israel message on a church was arrested again and is charged with lying on the stand during his trial. Raunaq Alam, 32, was found guilty earlier this month of criminal mischief for vandalizing Uncommon Church, a nondenominational congregation in Euless. He was initially arrested in March 2024 on misdemeanor vandalism charges, which were later upgraded to felony charges after the amount of estimated damage was increased from less than $750 to $1,700.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors also alleged Alam specifically targeted the church, which was flying an Israeli flag at the time of the vandalism, because of his \u201cbias or prejudice\u201d against people of \u201cthe state of Israel or Jewish faith.\u201d The case drew international attention over questions of whether criticism of Israel amounts to antisemitism. Israel has faced sharp rebuke from across the globe over accusations it\u2019s committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza following the Oct. 7 attacks.<\/p>\n
During the trial, Alam\u2019s defense never denied the vandalism charge but argued that Alam was not antisemitic and was instead criticizing the government of Israel. The message spray-painted said \u201cF— Israel.\u201d A jury later rejected the hate crime enhancement. Following his conviction, he was sentenced to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine, but the jury later suspended the sentence, giving Alam 180 days in jail and five years probation.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Alam was ordered to pay $1,700 of restitution to the church, serve 180 hours of community service and submit to regular drug testing and was banned from church grounds as part of his probation. In a new indictment issued Wednesday, Alam is charged with aggravated perjury and is accused of lying on the stand during his trial about using psilocybin mushrooms, a drug that causes hallucinations.<\/p>\n
After he was arrested in March 2024 over the vandalism, Alam faced a charge of possession of a controlled substance for allegedly possessing mushrooms, but court records show that Alam was never indicted on the charge. The case was dismissed. But Alam would later be reindicted on a controlled substance charge stemming from the same incident; in addition to the aggravated perjury charge, the possession of controlled substance charge is also listed on Alam\u2019s jail log at the Tarrant County jail, where he has been since his arrest Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Questions about Alam\u2019s drug use took up over an hour of his trial after Alam took the stand in his own defense, according to KERA. Prosecutors questioned Alam over text messages he allegedly sent friends in which he spoke of using mushrooms and MDMA, more commonly known as molly or ecstasy, at raves. Alam said he did not recall sending the messages and at one point suggested someone else may have sent them, KERA reported.<\/p>\n
Adwoa Asante, Alam\u2019s lawyer, told The Dallas Morning News that charging Alam with perjury amounted to \u201cprosecutorial vindictiveness and prosecutorial retaliation\u201d and said prosecutors were seeking to imprison him because they failed to prove the hate crime enhancement. She also alleged Alam is being held in maximum security at the Tarrant County jail. His bail was set at $40,000 at a court hearing on Friday, according to Tarrant County jail records.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe jury gave him probation,\u201d Asante said. \u201cThey recognized, at the end of the day, this is a spray paint case. At the same time, we have the judiciary going behind the jury\u2019s back and giving him time to do, and now, with this new arrest, he\u2019s in maximum security.\u201d A spokesperson with the Tarrant County District Attorney\u2019s office said in an email that the district attorney\u2019s office sought the charge after several jurors from Alam\u2019s trial requested the district attorney\u2019s office refer a perjury charge to a grand jury.<\/p>\n
In addition to Alam, two others were charged with vandalizing the church. <\/p>\n