DALLAS, Texas — A man who sold a pistol to a man who used it to hold four hostages inside a Texas synagogue before being fatally shot by the FBI was sentenced Monday to nearly eight years in prison for a federal gun crime, the US Department of Justice said.
Henry “Michael” Dwight Williams, 33, pleaded guilty in June to being a felon in possession of a firearm, prosecutors said.
Williams sold Malik Faisal Akram the weapon Arkam used when he entered Congregation Beth Israel in the Dallas-area suburb of Colleyville on January 15 and held the synagogue’s rabbi and three others hostage, according to prosecutors.
Williams, who was previously convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and attempted possession of a controlled substance, sold Akram a semi-automatic pistol on January 13.
Prosecutors said that in plea papers, Williams admitted to possession of that firearm despite his prior conviction.
“This defendant, a convicted felon, had no business carrying — much less buying and selling — firearms,” US Attorney Chad Meacham said in a news release.
A law enforcement vehicle is seen near the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue on January 16, 2022, in Colleyville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP)
Prosecutors said Williams confirmed selling Akram the handgun at a Dallas intersection.
Akram, a 44-year-old British citizen, held hostages while demanding the release of a federal prisoner. The standoff ended after more than 10 hours when the synagogue’s rabbi threw a chair at Akram and fled with the other two remaining hostages just as an FBI tactical team was moving in. None of the hostages were injured.
Williams was arrested just over a week after the standoff.
