The man who was caught on video slapping an autistic boy in Pacoima now faces criminal charges.

Scott Sakajian, a Sun Valley resident, was charged with willful cruelty to a child and battery on a person, according to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.

Sakajian is accused of slapping Alfredo Morales, 10, after the boy touched the emblem on his Mercedes-Benz sedan on July 1.

Alfredo and his older sister, Claudia Morales, were crossing the street when the incident happened.

Sakajian made an immediate U-turn and followed the siblings to a bus stop. He stepped out, walked over to Alfredo who was sitting on a bench and slapped him.

His sister tried intervening and explained that Alfredo had autism, but the man still struck the boy.

Cell phone video of the confrontation went viral on social media, leaving community members outraged. The family also filed a police report.

Since the incident, Alfredo’s family, who is homeless and lives out of a broken truck, have been surrounded by an outpouring of support, with many saying they resonated with the story.

Along with a successful GoFundMe campaign and fundraising event, the family’s broken truck underwent a complete makeover. The family is staying at a motel temporarily until local housing officials can help them transition into more permanent housing.

The boy’s father, Miguel Morales, recently lost his job at a restaurant and was struggling to make ends meet.

Alfredo and his sister ride the bus daily to make a food and grocery run for the family. They were taking their usual bus route on July 1 when the confrontation happened. 

The Morales family said they are overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of strangers and said they plan to give back in some way to everyone who has helped them. 

The family also has an attorney representing them, Antonio Villegas. Villegas said he became aware of their story after L.A. rapper Swifty Blue sent him the viral video.

“I will do anything in my power to help them,” Villegas told KTLA. “And I don’t mean just by filing some sort of lawsuit, but by getting them resources to turn this tragic situation into something that helps improve their lives.”

Sakajian is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment hearing on Aug. 2, at the San Fernando Valley Courthouse.

If convicted on all charges, he faces up to six months in jail.

The annual Lotus Festival returned to Echo Park this weekend, marking its 43rd celebration with a vibrant display of cultural heritage. Held on July 13-14, the event highlighted the rich traditions of Los Angeles’ Asian and Pacific Islander communities.

Each year, the festival features a different nation from this region. This year’s celebration honored the Philippines, offering attendees a taste of Filipino culture through traditional dance performances, music, art, and cuisine.

With over 65 vendors, the festival drew thousands of visitors to Echo Park Lake to enjoy the festivities. For Katherine Quimpo, the Lotus Festival has been a cherished tradition.

“I’ve been coming here with my family since I was 12 years old, and now at 25, as a proud Filipino American, I love experiencing the culture and meeting other Filipino Americans here,” Quimpo said. “I love getting to sit in front of the stage and listen to the local Filipino-based artists. Some of them even sing in Tagalog, which is our native language.”

The Lotus Festival began in 1972, making it one of the longest-running cultural festivals in Los Angeles. The festival was named after the lotus flowers that bloom in Echo Park Lake, which are believed to have been planted by local Japanese-American residents in the early 20th century.

Building on this rich history, this year’s festival aimed to offer something new and exciting for attendees. Organizers introduced a special addition that brought an extra layer of fun to the event.

“This year we added a carnival. Throughout some of the areas, we opened up the parking lot more to add more carnival rides and community booths for our guests,” said Lotus Festival Chairman Carlos Alvarado. “We work on this festival year round and it brings our staff together at the Department of Recreation and Parks. I am very happy our staff’s hard work is showing because we have a big amount of people this year that showed out.”

The event also featured a Water Lantern Festival, where attendees designed their own lanterns and set them afloat in Echo Park Lake.

One of the standout artists at this year’s festival was Diane Valencia, owner and creator of Ginto Seeds, an artistic multimedia platform. She showcased handmade necklaces and intricate wood art, drawing considerable attention from festival-goers.

“My artwork is inspired by pre-colonial Filipino culture, and I use an ancient Filipino script called baybayin in a lot of my pieces because a lot of people don’t know that we have our own writing system,” Valencia said. “My wooden pieces are made from a method I use called solar pyrography, where I use a magnifying glass to focus sunlight and burn intricate designs into the wood.”

Food lovers also had plenty to indulge in, with a wide array of culinary delights from various Asian and Pacific Islander cuisines. From savory Filipino adobo and lumpia to sweet treats like halo-halo and bibingka, there was something to satisfy every palate.

The two-day event featured a diverse lineup of speakers, including Mayor Karen Bass and actor Peter Kwong. KTLA’s Cher Calvin also attended and served as the festival’s emcee for the opening ceremony.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable aspects of this festival is its ability to span generations, attracting both new visitors and those with deep, long-standing connections. Nancy Sumida, 82, shared that this festival holds a special place in her heart.

“I still come to this day because it reminds me of when I used to come here with my husband years ago. We were young then, and I remember bringing our son when he was just  a little boy—he’s now 48. It has always been so beautiful, nice, and green. The performances, atmosphere and people have always made this festival special,” Sumida said.

A federal judge in Texas has ruled that an 1868 ban on at-home distilling is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, in his ruling on Wednesday, sided with the Hobby Distillers Association’s lawyers that the 156-year-old ban exceeded Congress’s taxing power and violated the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause. The Hobby Distillers Association is a group that advocates legalizing a person’s production of spirits such as whiskey and bourbon for their personal consumption.

“Indeed, the Constitution is written to prevent societal amnesia of the defined limits it places on this government of and by the people,” Pittman wrote. “That is where the judiciary must declare when its coequal branches overstep their Constitutional authority. Congress has done so here.”

Pittman issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the U.S. government from enforcing the ban against the Hobby Distillers Association’s members. The judge also stayed his decision for 14 days to allow the government to seek a stay at the appellate court level.

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People who violate the at-home distilling ban could face up to $10,000 in fines or five years in prison.

Devin Watkins, a lawyer for the Texas-based hobby group at the libertarian think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Reuters that the ruling “respects the rights of our clients to live under a government of limited powers.”

The hobby group, which represented the plaintiffs, and four of its 1,300 members filed a lawsuit in December against the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and the Department of Justice, saying that the government’s regulatory reach could not extend to activities within a person’s home.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is a division of the Department of the Treasury that regulates and collects taxes on alcohol, while the Department of Justice can prosecute any felonies.

People who violate the at-home distilling ban could face up to $10,000 in fines or five years in prison. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

“This decision is a victory for personal freedoms and for federalism,” Competitive Enterprise Institute lawyer Dan Greenberg said. “We’re pleased to see that the court determined that the home distilling ban is unconstitutional – and that it blocked enforcement of the ban against our clients. More broadly, the court’s decision reminds us that, as Americans, we live under a government of limited powers.”

Pittman said that while three of the individual plaintiffs failed to prove they faced a credible threat of facing prosecution without an injunction, the group and one of its members, Scott McNutt, had carried their burden of showing they would be harmed if the ban was not blocked.

McNutt received an unsolicited letter from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau that said he faced potential civil and criminal liability after it learned he may have purchased materials that could be used to distill spirits.

The Department of Justice claims the ban was a valid measure created by Congress to protect the substantial revenue the government raises from taxing distilled spirits by limiting where plants could be located.

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The Competitive Enterprise Institute filed a lawsuit in December against the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and the Department of Justice. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Pittman, however, said the ban was not a valid practice of Congress’ taxing power because it did not raise revenue and “did nothing more than statutorily ferment a crime.”

“While prohibiting the possession of an at-home still meant to distill beverage alcohol might be convenient to protect tax revenue on spirits, it is not a sufficiently clear corollary to the positive power of laying and collecting taxes,” the judge wrote.

The judge said the ban on at-home distilling could also not be covered under Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce. He said the ban is “not a ‘comprehensive’ scheme of regulation because there are many aspects of the alcohol industry that Congress has left untouched.”

“While the federal government has become more enthusiastic about inflating the scope of its powers over the last century, this case shows that there are limits to the government’s authority,” Watkins, the lawyer for the Texas-based hobby group at the libertarian think tank Competitive Enterprise Institut said in a statement. 

“If the government appeals this decision to a higher court, we look forward to illuminating those limits.”

Reuters contributed to this report.