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Richard Sovenski was charged with a hate crime after he yelled profanities at children and attacked their chaperone.
A 52-year-old man is facing a felony hate crime charge after a cell phone video captured him screaming antigay and racist profanities at a group of teenagers. The man, Richard Sovenski, also pushed and punched the youth group's adult leader and had to be held back from charging the children.
The incident occurred last week in a parking lot of a McDonald's in the northern Idaho town of Coeur d'Alene, according to Inlander magazine. A group of children from a church youth group in Spokane, Wash., were in the area to hear a preacher speak and then stopped to get ice cream at the fast food restaurant.
It's not clear what prompted Sovenski's fury; aside from harassing and frightening the children, Sovenski allegedly shoved and punched the children's chaperone, Jose Ceniceros.
"Why don't you get a fuckin' job," Sovenski says to the group. "I will fuck you up in a fuckin' heartbeat you fuckin' little fa--t. Oh you fuck you, you fuckin' half br--d... Get the fuck out of Idaho."
A man holding back Sovenski grabs his genitals while looking at the children.
Ceniceros denies a claim from Sovenski's wife that the teens were being dangerously disruptive. Clearly, nothing the children did would warrant the response received -- and local police agreed. Sovenski faces one count of misdemeanor battery and one count of felony malicious harassment, which falls under Idaho's hate crimes statute.
"The kids couldn't really believe [Sovenski's behavior]," Ceniceros told the Inlander. "Five minutes earlier we were in church."
Warning: the video of the incident contains multiple slurs and expletives and may be disturbing to viewers.
