Overview
- A federal grand jury issued an eight-count indictment unsealed Thursday accusing Dalya Attar, her brother Joseph Attar, and Baltimore police officer Kalman Finkelstein of conspiracy, extortion via interstate communications, and illegal interception and disclosure of a wire.
- Charging documents allege the defendants planted a tracker and hid cameras disguised as smoke detectors to record a former campaign consultant in bed with a married man, then threatened exposure to deter criticism and limit outreach within the Orthodox Jewish community.
- Court records cite WhatsApp messages and voice notes discussing warnings and threats, including a message attributed to Attar about an "easy" way to get the consultant to "shut up and leave us alone."
- A federal magistrate ordered the three defendants released from custody Thursday on conditions including surrendering their passports, after the indictment was unsealed.
- Attar denies knowing of any illegal actions, calls the case the product of a disgruntled former employee, and remains in a contested race to keep the Senate seat she was appointed to in January; police say Finkelstein’s powers were suspended in 2022.