and last updated 2021-04-23 23:20:23-04
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. â A St. Petersburg man has been charged with a hate crime after police say he yelled racial slurs and fired an air rifle at a group of people.
Last week, the state attorney filed documents stating he is pursuing hate crime charges against Joshua Rousseau.
Rousseau has been charged with five counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer stemming from a February 20 confrontation at Clam Bayou Nature Preserve.
âHate crimes are not OK,â said Renita Skelton. âRacial slurs are not OK.â
Skelton says she and a group of friends were painting at the park on that Saturday when, for unknown reasons, Rousseau aggressively approached them, threatened them with his air rifle while hurling several racial slurs.