A Maryland state lawmaker has been indicted on federal extortion and conspiracy charges for an alleged scheme that involved recording a critic “in bed” with a married man. State Sen. Dalya Attar, a Democrat, allegedly planted tracking and recording devices on two individuals in attempt to silence them. The 35-year-old, who became the first Orthodox Jewish woman to hold a seat in the Maryland Senate after assuming a vacant seat in January, was indicted on eight charges. Her brother and a Baltimore police officer who assisted with her campaign also face eight counts, The Hill stated. Democrat lawmaker secretly filmed two of her critics in BED together to try and silence them, prosecutors say https://t.co/WxMI21SEeJ — Daily Mail US (@Daily_MailUS) October 30, 2025 WBFF shared: Court documents said that the two victims were a political consultant whom she filmed in bed with a married man. Additionally, Attar’s co-defendants, Joseph Attar and Kalman Finkelstein, were also taken into federal custody. The indictment says that Attar worked with four unnamed co-conspirators to carry out the scheme. During Attar’s 2018 election, she had worked with the political consultant, but the two parted ways soon after due to a disagreement. Attar allegedly feared that the consultant was “looking to screw me,” and was concerned about flyers being released to the Jewish community about her voting record. Prosecutors said that the plot began in January 2020 when the consultant stayed in an apartment that belonged to Finkelstein’s family, and the cop and Attar’s brother broke into the unit while she was away. Then, the two men allegedly installed cameras disguised as smoke detectors inside, and planted a tracking device on the consultant’s car. In March 2021, Attar allegedly had her brother threaten the consultant and married man with the release of the video unless the consultant would ‘leave Dalya alone.’ The political consultant is not named in court filings, but she is described as a dual Israeli-American citizen. “I ran for public office because of my strong belief in serving my community that I love, and I would never do anything to knowingly jeopardize my constituents’ trust in me,” Attar said in a statement, according to The Hill. “The case centers on the allegations of my former disgruntled employee. We have yet to see any tangible evidence to support the claim that I knew of any illegal actions taken on my behalf,” she continued. “I look forward to sharing my side of the story, and believe the truth will be the arbiter of justice. In the meantime, I will continue to serve my community with humility and honor, and look forward to being as transparent as possible,” she added. Democrat Maryland state senator accused of extortion for allegedly recording rival having sex with married man pic.twitter.com/3sHflPj6v6 — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 30, 2025 The Hill has more: The 20-page indictment accuses Attar of a multiyear plot to obtain and leverage the secret recording. The defendants and co-conspirators allegedly placed a tracker on the victim’s car and recording devices in her apartment living room and bedroom in early 2020. With the damaging recording in hand, Attar began an effort to extort the consultant the following year, the charging documents state. Attar allegedly sent messages indicating the person “needs to be warned” before she does more damage to her campaign. “I think we have a very, very easy on our end, simple way to very likely get her to just shut up and leave us alone,” Attar wrote, according to the indictment. Attar’s brother, Joseph, allegedly met with the romantic partner in December 2021, showed him the secret recording and told him to convince the consultant to leave the state senator alone. The indictment alleges that months later, the state senator became convinced the consultant was still doing damage to the campaign. So her brother allegedly threatened the consultant directly in a series of WhatsApp messages in June 2022, telling her to “leave my family alone and nothing will ever come out.” “Put me to the test. I dare you,” the brother purportedly wrote. A former prosecutor, Attar was appointed to fill a state senate vacancy representing parts of Baltimore after serving six years in the lower chamber. She is the first Orthodox Jew elected to the Maryland General Assembly.