Man Held in Post-9/11 Hate Crime

Orange County prosecutors on Thursday filed hate-crime charges related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, accusing a former Marine from Huntington Beach of taunting and threatening to kill an elderly Iranian couple he passed on the street.

The incident received much attention when it occurred two weeks after Sept. 11, with Arab American activists pointing to it as a prime example of the harassment the community faced.

Authorities allege that Steven James McManus, 44, encountered the victims, who are 77 and 74, during their routine morning walk. McManus was driving on Bushard Street when he spotted the couple, made a U-turn and demanded to know where they were from. McManus parked his car, approached the pair and told them he would kill them if they didn’t cross the busy street, authorities said.

Fearing for their lives, the couple stepped into the roadway, even though there were no lights or crosswalk. As they moved across the street, a passing motorist and neighbor recognized them, stopped, waved them into the car and drove them to their son’s home nearby, according to authorities.

Prosecutors have declined to identify the victims, saying they are still traumatized by the experience. Prosecutors also declined to say precisely what McManus said. Residents in the area said the couple were well-known for their morning walks and that the woman often wore a veil.

Although McManus and the victims were neighbors, prosecutors said they had no prior conflicts. Police were alerted to the incident when another neighbor witnessed the exchange and called 911.

The neighbor then directed police to McManus’ then-home.

Neither McManus nor his lawyer would comment on the charges Thursday. However, in an interview in September, McManus said he was defending his property.

“I just asked them where they were from,” McManus said. “They were on the side of my house. I saw two Arabs, one with a bell on his head....You don’t know what Charlie looks like, and I just wanted to know where they’re from.”

McManus said he told the couple to walk in front of his house. “I got arrested for speaking and trying to protect my safety,” he said. McManus is to be arraigned June 7.

The incident is one of 87 Orange County incidents in the wake of Sept. 11 that authorities investigated as possible hate crimes. It’s the second one to result in criminal charges.

McManus has been charged with two felony counts of making a criminal threat, with hate enhancements; two misdemeanor civil-rights violations; two misdemeanor counts of elder abuse; and one misdemeanor count of obstructing a police officer. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum of eight years in prison.

The president of the Orange County-based Alliance for Iranian Americans said he was pleased with the decision.