WASHINGTON, A Kentucky man was arrested Monday and charged with federal hate crime and firearms offenses for threatening a Palestinian American man with a loaded gun, stated the Department of Justice.
In a its statement, the DoJ said that according to the indictment that was unsealed this morning, on or about March 28, Melvin P. Litteral III used force or the threat of force to intimidate and interfere with the victim – a Palestinian American man and practicing Muslim identified in the indictment by the initials O.S.
“Because of O.S.’s race, color, religion and/or national origin, and because O.S. was enjoying the goods, services and facilities of a local restaurant,” the statement reads.
It added that the indictment also includes a weapons charge, alleging that the defendant brandished a firearm during the offense.
If convicted of the hate crime offense, Litteral faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to USD 250,000. If convicted of the firearms charge, Litteral faces a mandatory
minimum penalty of seven years in prison, to run consecutively to any sentence imposed for the hate crime offense.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Source: Kuwait News Agency