Fresno man accused of pepper spraying pro-Palestine supporters faces hate crime charges
The Fresno man accused of using pepper spray on a group of pro-Palestinian supporters Saturday has also been charged with a hate crime.
Brian Lee Turner, 62, is facing three felony counts for allegedly using the pepper spray against the group of people who had gathered near River Park to denounce the violence from Israel against Palestine.
Turner was in his car when the incident occurred, police said.
The Fresno County District Attorney’s office added a hate crime penalty enhancement to each felony charge. If Turner is convicted the enhancement could add three years for each felony count.
The criminal complaint against Turner also lists three victims, who were hit with pepper spray.
A witnesses at the rally told police Turner clashed with one of the demonstrators when he was asked to honk his car horn to show support for Palestine.
Turner refused and began yelling, “‘F... all of Palestine” and, “We don’t support Palestine,” before he began spraying something out of a small canister.
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 3:41 PM.
