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A San Francisco man who threatened a family wearing Black Lives Matter shirts in a restaurant was given a jail sentence of 60 days for his actions.
According to reports, Steven L. Cibotti was sentenced to 60 days in prison for committing a felony hate crime by means of felony threat by threatening to shoot the multiracial family who had entered the restaurant he was dining at. The San Mateo County District Attorney’s office also stated that Cibotti was given a suspended sentence of two years of supervised probation along with 120 hours of public service. He was also ordered to abstain from alcohol or any other controlled substances including marijuana and received a no-contact order with the victims in addition to being barred from owning a weapon and ammunition.
The incident involving took place on June 7th, 2020, at the Flights restaurant in Burlingame as the Colon multiracial family entered wearing “Black Lives Matter”. “He basically banged the table, slammed his hands on the table,” said Anthony Colon who described to a local network how Cibotti “looked directly at my son and said ‘black lives matter… ‘F’ black lives. Blue lives matter.’” Colon and his wife and three children had arrived to eat after attending a march. Cibotti continued harassing the family, at one point shoving Colon. “He said F you, B. I’ll f’ing shoot you,” Colon said, revealing that Cibotti pointed at his family, specifically at his children. “He said ‘if I had my gun I would shoot every one of you.’”
Cibotti’s actions heavily impacted the children. “I’m upset that the kids were exposed to that, I’m upset at the effect it’s going to have on them. After this, Arlo didn’t want to leave the house today because he thinks the guy’s going to come back and bring his gun,” said Colon’s wife, Ciara Doherty when interviewed at the time. “I don’t believe that if we were a white family that he would have come near us.”
“We are appalled this happened at Flights. We do not tolerate hate of any kind and it is our top priority that guests feel welcomed and safe while dining with us. We’ve continued to work closely with the police and the family involved to ensure they receive the justice they deserve. We stand together,” said Alex Hult, the owner of the restaurant in a statement issued shortly after the incident.
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