Hate crime charge filed against Lexington man for allegedly pulling gun at restaurant

A Kentucky man has been charged with a federal hate crime after he allegedly threatened a Palestinian American man with a loaded gun at a local restaurant this year, according to U.S. Department of Justice.

Melvin Litteral, 53 of Lexington, was arrested Monday and charged with brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and interfering in a federally protected activity in the Eastern District of Kentucky federal court, according to court records. The DOJ said Litteral used force or the threat of force to intimidate and interfere with the victim, a Palestinian American man and practicing Muslim, and pulled out a gun during the incident.

The incident happened inside the Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen restaurant on Walden Drive March 28. A Lexington police citation said Litteral pointed a handgun in the face of the victim after a verbal altercation which “placed the victim at substantial risk of serious physical injury or death.”

The victim, Omar Shalash, recounted the incident on social media platform, X. He said the altercation began after Litteral made Islamophobic comments. One included questions toward a hostess, who Shalash said he was speaking to, about how much pork Cheddar’s sells. Litteral then asked Shalash if he owned all of the gas stations in town, he said on X.

Litteral was originally charged with wanton endangerment and resisting arrest in state court. Court records show he was indicted on the charges June 18 and is scheduled to be arraigned in Fayette Circuit Court in August.

Litteral could spend up to 10 years in prison and pay a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted of the hate crime offense, according to the DOJ. The firearms charge carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of seven years, to run consecutively to any sentence imposed for the hate crime offense, if convicted.

The FBI Louisville field office is investigating the case, the DOJ said.