Masked protester who allegedly spewed hate at Jewish train passenger free until his prison stint

The masked anti-Israel agitator who wore a Hezbollah T-shirt while allegedly threatening a Jewish man on a Manhattan train will be free to roam the streets until he reports to prison next year in an unrelated hate crime case.

Christopher Husary, 37, was cut loose on supervised release by Judge Josh Hanshaft after he pleaded not guilty to attempted coercion as a hate crime and aggravated harassment in the second degree during his arraignment Friday.

He will be free until Jan. 2, when he must report for a one-year prison stint in California on a hate crime robbery charge stemming from a January 2024 incident when he shoved a woman to the ground, took her Israeli flag and burned it.

"My hands are tied," Hanshaft said of the proceedings, noting that the charges were not bail-eligible.

Husary made The Post's front page back in June, when he allegedly verbally attacked White Plains lawyer Joshua Savitt, 35, while the latter was traveling home after attending a Manhattan exhibit memorializing the victims of the deadly Oct. 7 Nova Music Festival attack.

According to Savitt and the prosecutors, Husary zeroed in on Savitt's kippa and hurled anti-Jewish abuse at him after he noticed Savitt taking a photo of him and another person vandalizing a train car.

When reached by The Post on Friday afternoon, Savitt did not have a comment on Husary's supervised release but said that he hoped the court had sent a "really, really strong" message.

"My hope is that this is a strong enough signal to him, and frankly, to anybody else, to quit it, don't do this again," he explained.

"He saw and immediately called out the religious symbol that I had on. So...to me, it's a little bit of a no-brainer, and it's sort of that's exactly the type of blatant activity and blatant behavior that people should know well enough, in 2024, not to do."

Assistant District Attorney Jack Ludtke recalled Savitt's allegations in court Friday.

"The defendant stated in substance, 'Yo, we got a Zionist over here', 'You gotta delete this photos', 'You'd delete those photos if you knew who I was', 'We'll find you and there will be consequences', 'You are not real Jews, I love real Jews,'" he listed.

During Friday's proceedings, the court also barred Husary from contacting Savitt, especially on social media.

Husary appeared in a jail-issued olive green jumpsuit and dark green jacket with black slip-on shoes.

He was handcuffed and wore a restraint belt.

Husary looked glum during the proceedings, smiling just once when sharing a whispered joke with his defense attorney, David Krauss.

The arraignment was wrapping up when Husary stunned his attorney and the judge by leaning into the microphone and suggesting he wanted to speak his mind.

"I did have something to add," Husary said.

"My attorney asked me not to speak. I would like to correct something the DA had to say."

He was interrupted by the judge, who cautioned him to allow Krauss to speak in his place.

Husary and his attorney huddled and then the attorney explained Husary took issue with the characterization of his California case.

Husary pleaded guilty in that case and reportedly read a poem aloud in court before being slapped with the one-year prison stint.

Husary was subsequently extradited to the Big Apple to face charges in Savitt's case.

In an exclusive interview with The Post about the attack, Savitt explained that he noticed two people vandalizing a train car near Union Square with the words "Free Gaza," and snapped their photo.

The vandals then confronted Savitt and called him a "Zionist," police said.

Husary also taunted him while demanding Savitt not photograph him, Savitt told The Post.

"Bro, if you only knew who I was," Husary allegedly said.

"He said something to the effect of 'we're going to find you, we're going to get you," Savitt said about the hateful display.

Savitt filed a police report after The Post identified Husary as a known agitator who was still living with his parents in their cushy $1.8 million California home.

Husary defended himself in an interview, claiming that Savitt was the aggressor because he started taking photos.

"The guy who stopped me and my friends is a terrorist. And then he lies and says I made a gun gesture," Husary told The Post in late June.

"I put my hand up because he was following and harassing us. I caught him."

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Friday commended Savitt for bravely coming forward.