A 21-year-old man who allegedly attacked a Jewish man in West Los Angeles as he walked home from a synagogue has been charged with a felony hate crime, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Semaj De Leone James pleaded not guilty last week to one count of violation of civil rights by force, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
James allegedly followed the man as he walked through an alley at about 9:50 p.m. April 27, jumped out of a van and attacked the man without provocation, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“Attacking someone because of their faith is not just a crime against one person. It’s an assault on our community,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement announcing the filing. “When individuals commit crimes motivated by prejudice or intolerance, they must answer for the harm they’ve caused. Every person has a fundamental civil right to worship freely without being harassed, attacked or threatened.”
James was arrested May 19 in South Los Angeles after a surveillance operation by Los Angeles Police Department detectives, but was subsequently released on his own recognizance over the prosecution’s objection due to a recent California Supreme Court decision and ordered to stay away from the location, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
He is due back at the Airport Courthouse June 4. A date is scheduled to be set then for a hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence to allow the case against him to proceed to trial.
If convicted as charged, James faces up to three years in county jail, according to the District Attorney’s Office.