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A California man accused of committing a federal hate crime wasn\u2019t always a rideshare driver\u2014he used to work as a trust and safety officer at Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before driving for Lyft<\/a>, Csaba John Csuk\u00e1s handled emergency disclosure requests at Twitter, now X, that were submitted by law enforcement officers seeking access to users\u2019 accounts. (According to X guidelines<\/a> for law enforcement, approvals are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and approved only when there\u2019s a credible fear that someone may be in danger or come to harm.)<\/p>\n After seeing the Twitter position on his LinkedIn page, Fortune<\/em> confirmed with a source at X he was employed there. (Most of Cusk\u00e1s\u2019 social media accounts now appear to be deleted.) When reached for comment by Fortune<\/em>, an email reply from X read: \u201cBusy now, please check back later.\u201d<\/p>\n Csuk\u00e1s is facing up to 10 years in prison<\/a>. He was arrested on March 13<\/a> for an Oct. 26 incident in which he allegedly punched a would-be passenger. When Csuk\u00e1s approached the individual who\u2019d requested the ride, he asked \u201cif the victim was Jewish or Israeli, stated that he would not transport a Jewish or Israeli person\u201d and struck the person in the face, according to the indictment.<\/p>\n \u201cNo 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,\u201d Attorney General Merrick Garland said.<\/p>\n Lyft confirmed to UPI<\/a> that Csuk\u00e1s was a driver at the time of the incident and removed him after the altercation. A spokesperson added: \u201cLyft 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\u2019s account from the platform and assisted law enforcement with their investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the Matthew Sheppard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009\u2014codified as 18 U.S. Code \u00a7 249\u2014Csuk\u00e1s, if convicted, could also face a $250,000 fine in addition to a decade behind bars.<\/p>\n The Anti-Defamation League found that 2023 closed with a 337% increase<\/a> in antisemitic incidents, the bulk of which happened after Oct. 7, the day Hamas launched an attack against Israel. The ADL found over 2,000 antisemitic incidents between Oct. 7 and Dec. 7, with 40 of them rising to physical altercations.<\/p>\n \u201cThis terrifying pattern of antisemitic attacks has been relentless since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, with no signs of diminishing,\u201d ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said at the time.<\/p>\n Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion<\/a> in October 2022, after which the company\u2019s Trust and Safety Council was dissolved<\/a>. Musk has come under fire for endorsing<\/a> <\/a>anti-Semetic comments<\/a>, accusations that he\u2019s called \u201cbogus\u201d<\/a> but also apologized for<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nSubscribe to the Eye on AI newsletter to stay abreast of how AI is shaping the future of business. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n