Ohioan charged with hate crime for beating man he believed was Jewish

Victim was hit and kicked after telling Cincinnati-area attacker he is Jewish, even though he is not

By JTA 23 March 2018, 4:07 am

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Screenshot from a TV story on a campaign on Cincinnati WLWT5.

A Cincinnati-area man was indicted on a federal hate crimes charge for attacking a man he thought was Jewish.

Izmir Koch, 32, beat a man who was smoking a cigarette outside a local restaurant. He was charged Wednesday.

According to the indictment, Koch in February 2017 asked people standing outside the restaurant if anyone there was Jewish. When the victim responded in the affirmative, although he was not actually Jewish, Koch allegedly punched him, knocking him to the ground. Koch then continued to hit and kick him.

The victim suffered injuries to his ribs and a fracture of the orbital floor, the bottom portion of his eye socket.

US Attorney Benjamin Glassman told reporters that the victim was not actually Jewish, but since Koch beat him because he believed he was Jewish, a federal grand jury indicted him on one count of committing a hate crime.

“Physically attacking someone because you think he’s Jewish — or Christian or Muslim or any other religion — is a federal crime,” Glassman said in a statement announcing the indictment. “This office prosecutes hate crimes.”

If convicted, Koch could spend up to 10 years in prison.