CLEVELAND, Ohio – Authorities say a North Olmsted man was arrested Tuesday and accused of lying about being the victim of a hate crime involving anti-Palestinian slurs.
The Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations sent a press release Oct. 23 calling for an investigation into the man’s claims, which involved a person striking him.
Instead, police say, his claims were false, and the injuries he suffered came from a fight with his brother.
Hesham A. Ayyad, 20, told officials at the Islamic council that he was walking on Cook Road at about 4:10 p.m. Oct. 22 when someone driving a dark SUV pulled up to him and began yelling at him.
“The driver of the car allegedly started yelling at him using anti-Palestinian statements, like ‘Kill all Palestinians,’ ‘Long live Israel,’ as he swerved his car to intimidate the victim. The driver then allegedly turned around and hit the man while shouting ‘DIE!’” the press release from the Islamic council said about the incident.
The council sent a photo of Ayyad in the hospital wearing a neck brace.
Police responded to the incident at 4:25 p.m. Ayyad told officers he “had been struck by a vehicle and that the incident was racially motivated,” according to a statement by North Ridgeville police. He was then transported to a local hospital.
After investigators viewed multiple video sources from the area and examined them with times of the call for service, they said Ayyad had lied about being struck by a vehicle and also lied about the racial slurs that were said to him at the time of the incident.
“It was further found that injuries sustained at the time of the incident were caused by a violent fight that the alleged victim had participated in with his brother, which was confirmed by area video surveillance,” police said.
Ayyad was arrested Tuesday and charged with making false alarms, falsification, obstructing official business, domestic violence and assault.
His brother, 19-year-old Khalil A. Ayyad, also of North Olmsted, was also arrested and charged with domestic violence and assault.
Both men are being held at the Lorain County Jail pending a hearing in Elyria Municipal Court.
In a statement Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Islamic council said the organization is seeking more information about arrests.
“Our understanding is that the brothers have secured their own legal counsel. We do not yet know anything more about the nature of the charges,” the statement said.
The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com reached out to police for more information, including the security footage viewed by investigators.