An assault that allegedly took place last week on Haight Street has been deemed a hate crime by the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, and the suspect has now been charged.
The attack took place on or around December 17, and Eduardo Navarro Perez is accused of assaulting a Jewish man while making disparaging antisemitic remarks. According to a release from the DA's office, Navarro Perez allegedly approached the victim and asked whether he was Black or Jewish. When the victim replied that he was Jewish, Navarro Perez "attacked the victim with a skateboard."
Navarrro Perez was arrested last Saturday and has remained in custody, and today he's been charged with assault with a deadly weapon with a hate-crime enhancement.
"There is no place for antisemitism, or any crime motivated by hate in San Francisco, in our state or anywhere else," DA Brooke Jenkins said in statement. "We will do everything in our power to hold Navarro Perez accountable and ensure there are consequences for this attack."
Jenkins added, "This prosecution will send a message to all who seek to sow division that our diversity and unity makes us strong, and we will not sit idly by and allow anyone to be singled out and victimized because of who they are."
The victim's injuries following the attack are not known, and police did not report details about the assault when it occurred. It's also not clear, until the case moves forward, where on Haight Street this took place.
Navarro Perez faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
This alleged antisemitic attack occurred amid rising antisemitism nationwide, on social media in particular. Earlier this month, Ye a.k.a. Kanye West was seemingly permanently banned from Twitter (again) for posting disparaging things about Jewish people and for posting a Nazi swastika as soon as his account was briefly reinstated under Elon Musk.
Musk, who has offered "general amnesty" to all of the nation's bigots and COVID deniers on Twitter, said of the Kanye re-ban, "He again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended."
Days earlier, West had appeared on Alex Jones's InfoWars and said, "I like Hitler."
At a White House Hanukkah reception on Monday, President Joe Biden condemned rising antisemitic hate online, saying, "Silence is complicity. I will not be silent. America will not be silent."
Previously: D4 Supervisor Candidate Leanna Louie Calls Jewish Jounalist a ‘NAZI,’ As Her Candidacy Gets Fringier
Photo: Robin Jonathan Deutsch