The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. is prosecuting a case against a man arrested for an assault as a hate crime outside the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro station last week.
The Metropolitan Police Department on July 10 arrested 38-year-old Walter James, of Texas, for assault with a significant bodily injury and bias-related crime after he punched and knocked Ariel Golfeyz, 31, to the ground near GW Hospital. Golfeyz, who is Jewish and lives in Baltimore, Maryland, said he was walking through the I Street Mall on his way to work at about 8:25 a.m. that day when James shouted antisemitic statements at him about the war in Gaza and repeatedly punched him on the ground.
Golfeyz said he was wearing a yarmulke, or kippah, at the time of the attack. He said he bit James on the leg to try to stop him from punching him.
“You are not the real Jewish and you guys are murderer, you guys kill people in Gaza and in America,” James said during the assault, according to the arrest affidavit.
MPD’s website states that a hate crime is “motivated by prejudice,” which could be based on race, religion, gender, age or other statuses. Judge Heide L. Herrmann put James under a no bond status during a preliminary hearing on Thursday, meaning he will remain in custody until the case is resolved, according to the court docket. A felony status conference is scheduled for July 30.
A GW Hospital special police officer first noticed the incident and yelled at James while kicking him off Golfeyz, according to the affidavit. The affidavit states that the officer detained James on a bench, where he continued to shout at Golfeyz until MPD Officer Tushar Boltero arrived and made the arrest after a witness called MPD at 8:34 a.m.
James’ attorney, Gregg D. Baron, declined to comment.
Golfeyz sustained cuts and bruises to his face and a laceration on his elbow, according to the affidavit. He was treated on the scene but refused transport to the hospital, deciding to go on his own, the affidavit states.
“In our nation’s capital, where we have the right for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, I cannot wear my yarmulke, even though, in the United States, we have that,” Golfyez said. “And this is in the United States capital, where the beacon of freedom starts from.”
James received a minor laceration on his right knee and was treated on the scene but refused further medical assistance, the affidavit states.
An MPD spokesperson said on July 13 that the department is focused on reducing crime in the District, including crimes related to hate or bias that could make communities “vulnerable and more fearful.”
There have been 75 hate crimes in the District through June 30, 2024, four more incidents than the same time period in 2023, according to MPD crime data. At least nine of those incidents have been targeted towards Jewish or Israeli people, the data shows.
“It’s why we ensure these types of incidents are vigorously investigated and why our approach for hate and bias reduction includes public education on identifying and reporting these types of incidents,” the MPD spokesperson said in an email.
Assault with a significant bodily injury carries a maximum sentence of up to 3 years in prison and $12,500 in fines, according to the D.C. code. A bias-related crime elevates the maximum fine and prison sentence by up to 1.5 times.
Golfeyz said he still is experiencing pain in his back and other areas of his body from the attack. He received two CT scans after the attack on July 11, according to a supplemental affidavit.
He said he was in “shock” after the assault and didn’t fully realize what happened until he watched videos he recorded when the officer detained James.
“I didn’t really understand what was going on,” Golfeyz said. “But when I watch it now, I have to turn it off after like a minute, because the hate in his eyes, you could just see the hate.”
Golfeyz said before the assault, he was looking forward to spending the summer in D.C.
“For the summer, I wanted to stay to be a part of the Jewish community in Washington, D.C., because it’s a large one,” he said.
On July 5, five days before the assault, James was arrested for unlawful entry, resisting arrest and assault on a police officer entering a restricted area outside the U.S. Capitol and fighting with officers trying to detain him. He was released from custody on July 6, according to court documents.
