Latest news with #CAIR-LA
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Agoura Hills home displaying Palestinian flag attacked in hate crime, authorities say
Authorities are searching for the man who allegedly damaged the door of an Agoura Hills home displaying a Palestinian flag, according to investigators who are describing the attack as a hate crime. The incident took place at the 30400 block of Passageway Place around 2 p.m. on Sept. 28, 2024, but the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department posted a social media post Tuesday, asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect who was videotaped by a doorbell camera. LASD acting Capt. Dustin Carr said the investigation has been ongoing since the incident took place, and turned to the public's help this week after investigators were unable to identify the suspect. Detectives said the suspect approached the home and aggressively began pounding and kicking the door, spewing racist remarks and verbal threats in reference to a Palestinian flag displayed on an upstairs window. The resident's door sustained damages, the LASD said in the X post Tuesday. Carr said the door sustained multiple scratches and foot marks. Investigators do not believe the suspect lives in the area. The department confirmed the residents inside the home are not of Palestinian nationality. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group known as CAIR-LA, commended the LASD for investigating the incident as a hate crime. 'No one should face harassment or threats simply for displaying a flag that represents their identity or their call for justice. This alarming act is part of the broader rise in anti-Palestinian hate and Islamophobia,' CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said in a statement Wednesday. 'We must remain vigilant in opposing all forms of hate and ensure our communities can safely express their identities and stand up for justice and human rights.' The incident comes months after a violent clash between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students camping on UCLA's campus in May 2024. The suspect, who remains unidentified, was wearing glasses and a white shirt with black pants. He is believed to be about 30 years old. Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to contact Det. Aquino at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station at (818) 878-1808. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Agoura Hills home displaying Palestinian flag attacked in hate crime, authorities say
Authorities are searching for the man who allegedly damaged the door of an Agoura Hills home displaying a Palestinian flag, according to investigators who are describing the attack as a hate crime. The incident took place at the 30400 block of Passageway Place around 2 p.m. on Sept. 28, 2024, but the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department posted a social media post Tuesday, asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect who was videotaped by a doorbell camera. LASD acting Capt. Dustin Carr said the investigation has been ongoing since the incident took place, and turned to the public's help this week after investigators were unable to identify the suspect. Detectives said the suspect approached the home and aggressively began pounding and kicking the door, spewing racist remarks and verbal threats in reference to a Palestinian flag displayed on an upstairs window. The resident's door sustained damages, the LASD said in the X post Tuesday. Carr said the door sustained multiple scratches and foot marks. Investigators do not believe the suspect lives in the area. The department confirmed the residents inside the home are not of Palestinian nationality. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group known as CAIR-LA, commended the LASD for investigating the incident as a hate crime. 'No one should face harassment or threats simply for displaying a flag that represents their identity or their call for justice. This alarming act is part of the broader rise in anti-Palestinian hate and Islamophobia,' CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said in a statement Wednesday. 'We must remain vigilant in opposing all forms of hate and ensure our communities can safely express their identities and stand up for justice and human rights.' The incident comes months after a violent clash between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students camping on UCLA's campus in May 2024. The suspect, who remains unidentified, was wearing glasses and a white shirt with black pants. He is believed to be about 30 years old. Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to contact Det. Aquino at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station at (818) 878-1808.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Muslim advocates praise hate crime investigation into Agoura Hills incident
Southern California's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization is praising the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for a hate crime investigation into an incident in Agoura Hills last year. On Sept. 28, 2024, a man 'aggressively pounded on the victim's front door, caused damage to the door, & made threatening, racially charged statements' at a home in the 30400 block of Passageway Place, the LASD said. Investigators tied those threats and racist statements to 'a Palestinian flag displayed in an upstairs window' of the home. Man damaged Agoura Hills home's door, made racist statement in alleged hate crime: LASD On Wednesday, the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, aka CAIR-LA, released a statement 'welcom[ing] a hate crime investigation.' 'No one should face harassment or threats simply for displaying a flag that represents their identity or their call for justice,' CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said in a statement. Ayloush added that they believe the incident is part of a 'broader rise in anti-Palestinian hate and Islamophobia aimed at silencing voices calling for an end to Israel's genocide in Gaza and brutal occupation of indigenous Palestinian land.' 'We must remain vigilant in opposing all forms of hate and ensure our communities can safely express their identities and stand up for justice and human rights,' Ayloush explained. 'We commend the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for investigating this incident as a hate crime and urge full accountability for the perpetrator.' Investigators are still searching for that perpetrator, who is about 30 years old. During the incident, he was wearing a white shirt and black pants. He also wears glasses, according to images provided by the LASD. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Aquino at 818-878-1808. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Most arrested during USC, UCLA Israel-Hamas war protests won't be charged, L.A. city attorney says
The Los Angeles city attorney's office will not file criminal charges against the vast majority of protesters arrested at UCLA and USC during last year's mass demonstrations over the war in Gaza, according to a written statement released Friday. City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto said that while her office received more than 300 referrals from arrests made during last spring's demonstrations at both campuses, only two people would be charged. Three others will be referred to informal prosecutorial proceedings. 'Most of these cases were declined for evidentiary reasons or due to a university's failure or inability to assist in identification or other information needed for prosecution,' the statement from her office reads. The two suspects facing criminal charges were identified as Edan On and Matthew Katz. Read more: Man arrested in attack on UCLA pro-Palestinian protesters won't face felony charges On, a pro-Israel demonstrator, was charged with battery and assault with a deadly weapon and Katz was charged with battery, false imprisonment and resisting arrest, according to the city attorney's office. Most of those charges are misdemeanors. Both were arrested for their alleged conduct at UCLA. On's case was initially handled by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, which deferred the case to Soto after it could not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that his alleged conduct directly injured another person. Three others — identified as Ali Abuamouneh, Karla Maria Aguilar and David Fischel — were sent to city attorney hearings, which are informal proceedings conducted as an alternative to a misdemeanor criminal prosecution, according to the statement. Abuamouneh and Aguilar were arrested at USC while Fischel was arrested at UCLA. The filing decision comes a year after university campuses became center stage for tense debates over the war in Gaza that broke out after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 — killing an estimated 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 people hostage. Gaza's Health Ministry says that Israel's offensive has killed more than 51,000 Palestinians. Read more: Police arrested hundreds of pro-Palestinian students in L.A. The fallout continues News of Soto's decision was received positively by some. The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) welcomed the filing of criminal charges against On. 'For far too long, our communities have demanded accountability for the brutal assault on peaceful, largely student-led demonstrators — an assault that left several injured and traumatized while law enforcement stood by and failed to intervene,' said Dina Chehata, a CAIR-LA civil rights managing attorney. "This filing is an important step, but it is only the first step.' Amelia Jones, a professor and vice dean of faculty and research at USC's Roski School of Art and Design, expressed support for Soto's decision to not file charges against most protesters. '[Her] decision not to file criminal charges on the vast majority of students arrested by LAPD on USC's campus last spring ratifies the student and faculty right to protest as a fundamental and lawful 'exercise of speech,' in her words,' she wrote in a statement to The Times. 'As a supporter of the students and someone who attended the entirely peaceful protests almost every day, I am thrilled to see this issue resolved and freedom of speech ratified." Read more: UCLA struggles to recover after 200 arrested, pro-Palestinian camp torn down Soto said her office received more than 300 referrals from arrests made during the protests at the two campuses in April and May 2024. Soto said the UCLA Police Department referred 245 arrests and all were declined for filing due to insufficient evidence. She said the Los Angeles Police Department referred 93 arrests made at USC. Those cases were also declined for filing due to insufficient evidence. 'I want to thank the attorneys in my Criminal Branch for their dedication to the rule of law and their commitment to objectively evaluating the evidence and referrals received on each of these matters," Soto said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Most arrested during USC, UCLA Israel-Hamas war protests won't be charged, L.A. city attorney says
The Los Angeles city attorney's office will not file criminal charges against the vast majority of protesters arrested at UCLA and USC during last year's mass demonstrations over the war in Gaza, according to a written statement released Friday. City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto said that while her office received more than 300 referrals from arrests made during last spring's demonstrations at both campuses, only two people would be charged. Three others will be referred to informal prosecutorial proceedings. 'Most of these cases were declined for evidentiary reasons or due to a university's failure or inability to assist in identification or other information needed for prosecution,' the statement from her office reads. The two suspects facing criminal charges were identified as Edan On and Matthew Katz. On, a pro-Israel demonstrator, was charged with battery and assault with a deadly weapon and Katz was charged with battery, false imprisonment and resisting arrest, according to the city attorney's office. Most of those charges are misdemeanors. Both were arrested for their alleged conduct at UCLA. On's case was initially handled by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, which deferred the case to Soto after it could not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that his alleged conduct directly injured another person. Three others — identified as Ali Abuamouneh, Karla Maria Aguilar and David Fischel — were sent to city attorney hearings, which are informal proceedings conducted as an alternative to a misdemeanor criminal prosecution, according to the statement. Abuamouneh and Aguilar were arrested at USC while Fischel was arrested at UCLA. The filing decision comes a year after university campuses became center stage for tense debates over the war in Gaza that broke out after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 — killing an estimated 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 people hostage. Gaza's Health Ministry says that Israel's offensive has killed more than 51,000 Palestinians. News of Soto's decision was received positively by some. The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) welcomed the filing of criminal charges against On. 'For far too long, our communities have demanded accountability for the brutal assault on peaceful, largely student-led demonstrators — an assault that left several injured and traumatized while law enforcement stood by and failed to intervene,' said Dina Chehata, a CAIR-LA civil rights managing attorney. 'This filing is an important step, but it is only the first step.' Amelia Jones, a professor and vice dean of faculty and research at USC's Roski School of Art and Design, expressed support for Soto's decision to not file charges against most protesters. '[Her] decision not to file criminal charges on the vast majority of students arrested by LAPD on USC's campus last spring ratifies the student and faculty right to protest as a fundamental and lawful 'exercise of speech,' in her words,' she wrote in a statement to The Times. 'As a supporter of the students and someone who attended the entirely peaceful protests almost every day, I am thrilled to see this issue resolved and freedom of speech ratified.' Soto said her office received more than 300 referrals from arrests made during the protests at the two campuses in April and May 2024. Soto said the UCLA Police Department referred 245 arrests and all were declined for filing due to insufficient evidence. She said the Los Angeles Police Department referred 93 arrests made at USC. Those cases were also declined for filing due to insufficient evidence. 'I want to thank the attorneys in my Criminal Branch for their dedication to the rule of law and their commitment to objectively evaluating the evidence and referrals received on each of these matters,' Soto said.
