A Daly City, California, resident and former rideshare driver was arrested on Tuesday for an Oct. 26, 2023, assault on a rider because he perceived the rider to be Jewish or Israeli.
“The defendant, a rideshare driver, is charged with assaulting a rider because he thought the rider was Jewish or Israeli,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “No one in this country should live in fear because of how they worship or where they come from. The Justice Department will aggressively prosecute those who perpetrate hate-fueled violence motivated by antisemitism or by bias of any kind.”
On October 26, 2023, Csaba John Csukás, 38, was indicted for hitting someone in the face at San Francisco International Airport because he thought the person was Jewish or Israeli.
Csukás, a driver for a rideshare app, was supposed to drive the victim home from the airport.
When he met the victim, he asked if they were Jewish or Israeli, said he wouldn’t drive them because of that and then hit them in the face.
Csukás appeared in court today, facing charges of a federal hate crime, which includes harming someone because of their religion or where they’re from if it affects business across state lines.
He could get up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if found guilty.
The FBI San Francisco Field Office investigated the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California’s Special Prosecutions Section is prosecuting the case..