A California man accused of committing a federal hate crime wasn’t all the time a rideshare driver—he used to work as a belief and security officer at Twitter.
Earlier than driving for Lyft, Csaba John Csukás dealt with emergency disclosure requests at Twitter, now X, that have been submitted by legislation enforcement officers looking for entry to customers’ accounts. (According to X guidelines for legislation enforcement, approvals are evaluated on a case-by-case foundation and accredited solely when there’s a reputable concern that somebody could also be at risk or come to hurt.)
After seeing the Twitter place on his LinkedIn web page, Fortune confirmed with a supply at X he was employed there. (Most of Cuskás’ social media accounts now look like deleted.) When reached for remark by Fortune, an e mail reply from X learn: “Busy now, please check back later.”
Csukás is going through as much as 10 years in prison. He was arrested on March 13 for an Oct. 26 incident wherein he allegedly punched a would-be passenger. When Csukás approached the person who’d requested the experience, he requested “if the victim was Jewish or Israeli, stated that he would not transport a Jewish or Israeli person” and struck the individual within the face, in accordance with the indictment.
“No one in this country should live in fear because of how they worship or where they come from. The Justice Department will aggressively prosecute those who perpetrate hate-fueled violence motivated by antisemitism or by bias of any kind,” Lawyer Normal Merrick Garland stated.
Lyft confirmed to UPI that Csukás was a driver on the time of the incident and eliminated him after the altercation. A spokesperson added: “Lyft unequivocally condemns anti-Semitism and all other forms of discrimination on the basis of religion or country of origin. We have contacted the rider to extend our support and assistance, permanently removed the driver’s account from the platform and assisted law enforcement with their investigation.”
In accordance with the Matthew Sheppard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009—codified as 18 U.S. Code § 249—Csukás, if convicted, may additionally face a $250,000 effective along with a decade behind bars.
The Anti-Defamation League discovered that 2023 closed with a 337% increase in antisemitic incidents, the majority of which occurred after Oct. 7, the day Hamas launched an assault in opposition to Israel. The ADL discovered over 2,000 antisemitic incidents between Oct. 7 and Dec. 7, with 40 of them rising to bodily altercations.
“This terrifying pattern of antisemitic attacks has been relentless since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, with no signs of diminishing,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt stated on the time.
Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022, after which the corporate’s Belief and Security Council was dissolved. Musk has come beneath hearth for endorsing anti-Semetic comments, accusations that he’s called “bogus” but in addition apologized for.
