A judge ordered two pro-Palestinian protestors to pay more than $1.6 million in damages to a hate crime victim following a 2021 attack outside of a Los Angeles sushi restaurant.
The incident occurred in May 2021, following Israeli airstrikes against Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip. The protestors approached the Beverly Grove restaurant with pro-Palestinian flags, shouting slurs at Jewish diners. A brawl then ensued with a victim being assaulted.
A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ordered the protestors to pay more than $1.6 million in damages to victim, Mher Hagopian.
Hagopian was seen in video footage from the incident being pushed up against a car, punched, kicked, and sprayed with chemical irritants.
The defendants maintained their innocence, claiming that the attack had no relation to antisemitic content.
However, text messages were pulled from their phones which read, “I never got to hit a Jew before so I’m Kinda Happy,” and “Lets pass again by that Jewish place tonight.”
The Beverly Grove neighborhood is located just north of the popular Beverly Center shopping center. It’s adjacent to the Fairfax District, the center of the Jewish community in Los Angeles. Nearby Beverly Hills and La Brea areas are also Jewish enclaves with many residents, businesses and synagogues.
