In 2001, Colleyville synagogue 'menace' wished others had died in 9/11

Malik Faisal Akram was banned from courts in Lancashire for abusing the court staff.

 A law enforcement vehicle is parked at a school in the area where a man believed to have taken people hostage at a synagogue during services that were being streamed live, in Colleyville, Texas, U.S. January 15, 2022.  (photo credit: REUTERS/Shelby Tauber)
A law enforcement vehicle is parked at a school in the area where a man believed to have taken people hostage at a synagogue during services that were being streamed live, in Colleyville, Texas, U.S. January 15, 2022.
(photo credit: REUTERS/Shelby Tauber)

Malik Faisal Akram, who held four people hostage in the Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville on Saturday, was banned from appearing in courts in Northgate, England, in 2001 for threatening and abusing staff and allegedly telling a court usher that he wished the usher had died on one of the 9/11 planes.

A 2001 article by the Lancashire Telegraph reported the ban only 11 days after the World Trade Center was hit.

According to the article, The Exclusion Order was a special act, stating that if Akram was ever found in a Lancashire court without justification or abused staff members, he would be taken into custody and fined £2,500. Akram was only the second person in 25 years to have the article used on them.

While Akram denied the allegations against him, a letter sent to him by then-deputy justice clerk Peter Wells called Akram a menace and detailed his abuse of court staff and especially quoted him telling the court usher, "You should have been on the F***ing plane."

Akram gained access to Beth Israel Synagogue on Saturday by posing as someone in need of shelter. After speaking with Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker and being given tea, he threatened the rabbi and three other congregants, holding them hostage for nearly 11 hours.

 Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, where four hostages were held. (credit: JTA)
Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, where four hostages were held. (credit: JTA)

For a short time at the beginning of the standoff, Akram could be heart ranting and threatening the hostages over a live stream that was running for the Shabbat services. The stream was soon shut down.

After one of the hostages was released and the other three escaped, the FBI stormed the synagogue and Akram was killed. It is not clear whether he killed himself or was killed by the FBI.