A 55-year-old San Francisco man is being charged with a hate crime over an incident at a Burlingame restaurant on June 7 during which he allegedly told a family supporting the Black Lives Matter movement he would shoot all of them if he had a gun.
At about 5:25 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, Steven Cibotti was intoxicated and had just finished dining outdoors at Flights Tapas Restaurant on Burlingame Avenue when he approached another table occupied by a family of five that included children ages 7, 5 and 2, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. The family had just attended a Black Lives Matter march in San Francisco and the children were wearing t-shirts that stated Black Lives Matter, Wagstaffe said.
Cibotti yelled “Blue Lives Matter” at the family and pushed their table, the DA said. After the father of the family told Cibotti he couldn’t speak to his family like that, Cibotti cursed at them and stated, “If I had a gun, I would shoot all of you,” before leaving the area, the district attorney said.
Cibotti remains out of custody on a $150,000 bail bond. On Tuesday, his attorney appeared on his behalf at Redwood City Felony Court and filed a demurrer to the felony complaint, an objection to the charges. Cibotti was ordered to have no contact with the victims and the case was continued to July 22 for a hearing on the defense demurrer to the felony complaint and for entry of plea, prosecutors said. Cibotti’s attorney wasn’t immediately available for comment.
