Armenians charged with hate crimes after attack on Turkish restaurant face up to 15 years in prison

A federal grand jury has indicted two men for alleged hate crimes after a reported November attack on a Turkish restaurant in Beverly Hills. The defendants are accused of hurling chairs at customers, yelling anti-Turkish slurs, and damaging the business’ property, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Authorities arrested Harutyun Harry Chalikyan, 23, of Tujunga, a defendant in the case, on Tuesday morning, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. The second defendant, William Stepanyan, 23, of Glendale, was previously arrested. The pair face one count of conspiracy and five hate crime charges, the office said.

On their way to the November 4 rally, the defendants, who are members of the Armenian American community, texted each other about “hunting for [T]urks” later that evening, prosecutors wrote.

Afterward, the pair, along with seven others, drove to a Turkish restaurant in Beverly Hills “because they considered the restaurant symbolic of Turkey and believed that Turkish people would be present,” prosecutors said.

When they arrived at the restaurant, the pair overturned tables and plexiglass barriers and, according to prosecutors, began to rush toward customers, yelled anti-Turkish slurs, asking them whether they were Turkish, and shouted, “We came to kill you! We will kill you!”

The defendants are accused of throwing chairs at the fleeing customers, some of whom suffered injuries from the attack, prosecutors said. The group left about $20,000 in damage to the restaurant as they fled before police arrived.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the hate crime allegations and an additional 5 years for the conspiracy charge, prosecutors said.