A Whittier man was arrested early Tuesday for allegedly being part of a group seen attacking diners in the Beverly Grove area of Los Angeles while shouting anti-Semitic slurs on May 18.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the man — Samer Jayylusi, 35 — was arrested in Anaheim at around 1 a.m. He’s been booked on $255,000 bail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
Video of the attacks — which involved a caravan of men confronting diners outside a sushi restaurant in the 300 block of North La Cienega Boulevard on May 18 — were widely broadcast, and Moore said LAPD received numerous tips.
“We have a substantial amount of video evidence,” Moore said at Tuesday’s police commission meeting.
The video showed men, some waving Palestinian flags, getting out of their cars as they drove down La Cienega at around 10 p.m. that night, then harassing a group of diners while yelling anti-Semitic slurs.
The attacks occurred in the aftermath of large demonstrations in the West L.A. area, including one outside the Israeli consulate, pitting pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups against each other. The gatherings took place as violence raged between the Israeli military and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, leaving hundreds dead.
Mayor Eric Garcetti called the assaults an “organized, anti-Semitic attack.” Moore said the incidents were being investigated as hate crimes.
He said the Whittier Police Department assisted in finding Jayylusi. Police haven’t said where they found him in Anaheim.
Jayylusi was the second of two men arrested as part of the investigation. The first man, 30-year-old Xavier Pabon of Banning in Riverside County, was arrested on Sunday. He was also booked on $275,000 bail, and was released after posting bond.
Source: Orange County Register
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