A Kentucky man was arrested today and charged with federal hate crime and firearms offenses for threatening a Palestinian-American man with a loaded gun.
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 practising Muslim identified in the indictment by the initials O.S. – because of O.S.’s race, colour, religion and/or national origin, and because O.S. was enjoying the goods, services and facilities of a local restaurant.
The indictment also includes a weapons charge, alleging that the defendant brandished a firearm during the offence.
If convicted of the hate crime offence, Litteral faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $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 U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
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