Two men were charged in an assault on Jewish diners earlier this year outside a Beverly Grove restaurant, the Los Angeles County District Attorney said Tuesday.
Xavier Pabon, 30, and Samer Jayylusi, 36, were each charged with two felony counts of assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury.
The criminal complaint also includes a hate crime allegation.
Jayylusi is expected to be arraigned Tuesday at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Pabon’s arraignment is scheduled for Thursday in the same courtroom. It was not immediately clear whether they have attorneys.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
The incident occurred on May 18, when the two suspects were allegedly part of a vehicle caravan waving Palestinian flags that confronted the victims outside Sushi Fumi in the 300 block of North La Cienega Boulevard.
They are accused of approaching two men outside of a restaurant and attacking them because of their religion, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Cell phone video showed a group of men exit a car and begin to attack the diners while yelling racial slurs.
Local
“A hate crime is a crime against all of us,” District Attorney Gascón said. “My office is committed to doing all we can to make Los Angeles County a place where our diversity is embraced and protected.”
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the attack at the restaurant "appeared to spring from a roving band of vehicles that were seen flying flags within the Jewish-populated areas of Hollywood, West L.A., Mid-Wilshire, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills."
Moore said police are searching for two more people believed to have taken part in the restaurant attack.
Mayor Eric Garcetti characterized the crime as an “organized, antisemitic attack."
“Jewish Angelenos, like all residents, should always feel safe in our city... L.A. is a city of belonging, not of hate. There is simply no place for antisemitism, discrimination or prejudice of any kind in Los Angeles. And we will never tolerate bigotry and violence in our communities,” he said in a Twitter post.
The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.
Pabon was arrested May 21 by Los Angeles police, while Jayylusi was arrested four days later.
Both of them were subsequently freed on bond.
