Zaid Gitesatani, 28, of Carlsbad, Calif., was arrested on Monday after a federal grand jury indicted him earlier this month on a hate-crime charge stemming from the assault of a Jewish man outside a Los Angeles synagogue, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Prosecutors allege that Gitesatani punched the victim outside Adas Torah Synagogue, an Orthodox congregation in the city’s Pico-Robertson neighborhood, on June 23, 2024, during a protest against an Israeli real estate event held at the synagogue. Anti-Israel groups, including CodePink, the Palestinian Youth Movement and WESPAC Foundation, organized the demonstration.
“Every American deserves to live without fear of violence based on who he is or how he worships,” stated Harmeet Dhillon, assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously prosecuting such crimes of hate and violence.”
According to the indictment, Gitesatani traveled to Los Angeles to attend the protest. Prosecutors said he approached the victim from behind as the man walked his dog near the synagogue and punched him in the jaw, causing pain, redness and swelling, before retreating into the crowd.
Federal authorities said, later the same day, Gitesatani posted a video screenshot of the assault to Instagram, and wrote, “Whooped the Zios today, and we took their flag,” and “I swung good on them.” He also posted two photos of himself displaying bruised knuckles following the assault, prosecutors stated.
In a separate post, he allegedly shared the still image of the assault with the caption, “The Chosen People sometimes need a good smack to wake up.”
If convicted, Gitesatani faces up to 10 years in federal prison. The FBI is investigating the case.
