Prosecutors in Alameda County have charged a man with a hate crime for allegedly threatening someone whose vehicle was adorned with an Israeli flag, the District Attorney’s Office said.  

Jesus Hernandez, 40, was charged Wednesday with one misdemeanor hate crime count, a second count of felony criminal threats and a third count of brandishing a replica firearm.  

According to prosecutors, Hernandez was traveling on an East Bay freeway in Alameda County last Thursday when he allegedly veered toward another person’s vehicle which was adorned with an Israeli flag. Hernandez is accused of threatening to kill the person in the vehicle, yelling racial slurs and pointing a replica firearm at the person.  

Prosecutors also allege that Hernandez used the replica firearm to assault the victim after exiting the freeway in Fremont.  

Hernandez is scheduled to return to court for a plea hearing on Oct. 31, prosecutors said.  

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.