San Francisco DA charges man in connection with antisemitic attack
The San Francisco District Attorney on Tuesday announced charges against the suspect in an antisemitic attack that happened in the Marina District.
DA Brooke Jenkins said 36-year-old Juan Diaz-Rivas was charged with two counts of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, an allegation on one assault that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on one of the victims, and that the assault was a hate crime.
On June 14, two people were sitting on a sidewalk on the 3100 block of Fillmore Street when a group of about six people walked by saying, "**** the Jews, Free Palestine," the DA said.
The DA said that one of the people sitting on the sidewalk asked the group to stop and explained that she was Jewish. The DA said Diaz-Rivas is accused of confronting her, prompting her and the victim to walk away.
According to the DA, the group followed after them, and someone punched the victim. The DA said the victim passed out after falling and hitting his head. Diaz-Rivas allegedly punched and kicked the victim while he was down, the DA said.
Other people in the group with Diaz-Rivas were also allegedly attacking the victim, the DA said. A person working at a nearby business allegedly heard the incident and tried to intervene, but was kicked and punched, the DA said.
"Antisemitism on both left and right is deadly real. It happens in small ways and large, in our schools and universities, in the workplace, on social media, in public meetings, and in community spaces. The daily antisemitic statements and actions we see — demonizing Jews, holding Jews to unique standards, and promoting anti-Jewish stereotypes and conspiracy theories — inevitably lead to violence, and we are seeing that play out in San Francisco and around the country," Sen. Scott Wiener said in a statement.
San Francisco Police are still investigating the attack and ask anyone with information to call police at 415-575-4444.
