Ride share driver who allegedly punched passenger at SFO charged with federal hate crime
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) logo. seal (Department of Justice via Bay City News)
DALY CITY, Calif. - A ride share driver accused of striking a rider in the face that he perceived to be Jewish or Israeli has been arrested and charged with a hate crime, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Daly City resident Csaba John Csukas, 39, was charged with a federal hate crime after allegedly striking a passenger in his ride share vehicle at the San Francisco International Airport on Oct. 26, 2023.
In the indictment unsealed Wednesday, Csukas worked as a driver for an app-based rideshare company and was hired to pick up the victim at SFO and take him home. But when Csukas approached the rider, he allegedly asked him if he was Jewish or Israeli, stated that he would not transport him if he was, and allegedly attacked him by striking him in the face with his fist.
Csukas made an appearance in court on Wednesday on charges of committing a federal hate crime which "prohibits, among other things, causing bodily injury because of the actual or perceived religion or national origin of a person in circumstances affecting interstate commerce," prosecutors said.
"This unprovoked attack was senseless and brutal, said Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Field Office Robert Tripp in a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
If convicted, Csukas is facing up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.