A federal jury in San Francisco has acquitted a former Lyft driver who punched an Israeli Jewish passenger during an altercation at San Francisco International Airport on Oct. 26, 2023.
The verdict, which determined the defendant was not guilty of a federal hate crime, was delivered on Oct. 30, one year after the incident.
Csaba John Csukás, a Daly City resident originally from Bosnia, had been charged with committing a federal hate crime “in circumstances affecting interstate commerce,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on March 13, the day Csukás was arrested following a monthslong investigation. Csukás was 39 at the time of the indictment.
At the time, the case drew attention in Washington, D.C., including from Attorney General Merrick Garland, who said in a statement, “No one in this country should live in fear because of how they worship or where they come from.”
In the end, federal prosecutors failed to win a conviction.
The victim of the airport scuffle, an Israeli-born Jew, told J. on Friday that he was “disappointed” with the outcome of the trial and hopes that the state will pursue the case.
He also spoke to J. soon after the attack on the condition of anonymity out of concern for his safety. He is referenced in court documents by his initials, S.B.
S.B. told J. a day after the incident that Csukás punched him in the ear after learning he was an Israeli Jew.
“I assume he saw my Jewish name. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure it out,” S.B. said. He said the Lyft driver first asked him if he was Israeli, which he thought was a gesture of friendliness.
“He said something like, ‘I don’t want Israelis in my car,’ and punched me in the ear. Very strong,” S.B. told J. on Oct. 27, 2023. At his wife’s urging, S.B. went to the hospital with minor injuries.
Three weeks later, Lyft told J. via a Nov. 21 email from spokesperson Allison Guthrie that it had permanently removed the driver’s account from the platform.
At trial, according to Bloomberg, defense lawyers disputed S.B.’s version of events, arguing that S.B. had insulted Csukás, which is why he threw the punch. They also said Csukás had been under financial and personal strain because his fiancee is Palestinian.
I assume he saw my Jewish name. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure it out.
During his interview with J. after the incident, S.B. said he remembered Csukás saying something like, “My family is dying.”
Defense lawyers also argued over technical details. They contested the federal statute being wielded, saying it did not apply to the incident at hand.
Csukás was charged with violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. Named after two victims of hate-motivated crimes, the act criminalizes “willfully causing bodily injury” that targets protected classes such as race, religion or sexual orientation. The act adds details about such crimes having to do with commerce, travel and jurisdiction.
In Csukás’ trial, the jury was instructed to determine whether the incident occurred during the victim’s course of international travel.
Several court documents show that the defense put significant effort into contesting that element of the charge, arguing that S.B.’s course of international travel ended the moment he disembarked the plane after arriving at SFO from Toronto.
In order to find Csukás guilty, the jury was required to consider whether the government was able to prove all of the act’s elements beyond a reasonable doubt, including that the punch was motivated by bias and that it occurred during the course of international travel.
The government sought to show Csukás’ state of mind with evidence pulled from his social media accounts. Csukás’ defense attorneys tried to prevent the government from doing so, arguing it would unfairly prejudice the jury.
The judge denied their motion, permitting the government to admit into evidence posts made or reposted by Csukás between Oct. 7 and Oct. 26, 2023, to “show [his] state of mind” on the day of the incident at SFO.
Most of Csukás’ social media accounts have been deactivated. However, a Reddit page under the username “r/csabajohncsukas” is active, showing a number of anti-Israel posts. Prosecutors submitted posts from that account into evidence.
A description of the confrontation at SFO provided by prosecutors in court documents aligns with what S.B. told J. in the interview.
“[Csukás] arrived at the designated rideshare pick up area in the central parking garage at SFO, got out of his car, approached S.B., and asked S.B. if he was from Israel and if he was Jewish,” according to an Oct. 28 memo submitted by the U.S. attorneys. “When S.B. responded in the affirmative, the defendant told S.B. he would not take any ‘Jewish or Israelis in my car.’ A few moments later, [Csukás] … punched S.B. with a closed fist, striking S.B. on the side of his head.”
Although S.B. said he hoped the state would take up the case, Steve Wagstaffe, San Mateo County’s district attorney, said it cannot happen because Csukás was acquitted at the federal level. “California Penal Code section 687 provides that no person can be subject to a second prosecution following an acquittal for the same conduct,” Wagstaffe wrote in an email to J. According to the indictment filed March 12, Csukás faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.