(LEX 18) — The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs reported that on Monday, a Kentucky man was charged with federal hate crime and firearm offenses after he allegedly threatened a Palestinian American man with a loaded gun in March.
The office reported that the unsealed indictment revealed that Melvin Perry Litteral III reportedly "used force or the threat of force to intimidate and interfere with the victim-a Palestinian American man and practicing Muslim..."
As previously reported by LEX 18 Investigates, the victim said he was at a Lexington Chedder's restaurant, when Litteral made Islamophobic comments to him, then allegedly pulled a gun on him.
At a preliminary hearing, a Lexington police officer testified that security video showed Litteral pointing the gun at him and allegedly making threats about "going back to Arabia, the middle east."
Further, the office added that if convicted of the hate crime offense, Litteral faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. A conviction on the firearms charge means Litteral faces a mandatory minimum penalty of seven years in prison which would run consecutively with the hate crime sentence.
The office added that the FBI Louisville Field Office is investigating the case.
