No hate charges filed by prosecutors after ‘Porchfest’ incident in Fresno’s Tower District | YourCentralValley.com

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A 49-year-old man initially arrested on suspicion of a “civil rights violation/hate crime” following an incident at the Porchfest event in Fresno’s Tower District will not face punishment face hate crime charges, prosecutors said.

Witnesses say 49-year-old Francisco Samaniego approached her at the April 27 event and allegedly started an argument about her support for Palestine. The argument escalated into a physical altercation. Samaniego fled on foot after the altercation but was found by assisting officers.

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office says the decision not to file hate crime charges against Samaniego was due to the suspect’s actions. The legal test for determining that a hate crime has been committed is that the actions “were based on disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with a person/group “one or more of these characteristics” of another person. The prosecutor’s office says Hamas does not fit into any of these labels.

After carefully reviewing the investigative reports and witness statements, Fresno County
The district attorney’s office has come to the legal conclusion that the prosecution cannot prove this
There is no reasonable doubt that Mr. Samaniego committed a hate crime.

Fresno County District Attorney’s Office.

The DA’s office adds that Francisco Samaniego’s statements are protected by the First Amendment and that the statement regarding Hamas does not meet the requirements of a hate crime “since terrorist organizations are not a protected group under the law.”

Prosecutors report that Samaniego is charged with one count of second-degree robbery and three counts of assault. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Fresno County Superior Court.