Lion Raisins heir arrested after alleged antisemitic harassment of Chabad rabbi in Los Angeles

Bruce Lyon, the 64-year-old heir to the longtime fruit company Lion Raisins, was arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of making terrorist threats after, according to complaints, running a months-long antisemitic harassment campaign against Chabad emissary Rabbi Zusha Konin and his community in Pacific Palisades.

Police are holding Lyon on $50,000 bail. According to the California Post, he regularly stood on the balcony of his home near the Chabad house and shouted antisemitic and racist insults at the rabbi and worshippers. In some incidents, he disrupted prayers and threatened community members in front of small children. Rabbi Konin said, “It was terrible. I have never experienced anything like this, especially in front of children.” He said he and other congregants repeatedly contacted police, but the behavior continued until Lyon’s arrest on Friday night.

The day before his arrest, Lyon allegedly admitted he had intentionally blasted Christian music at high volume to anger his Jewish neighbors. He also cursed them, said they were “going to hell,” and made the baseless claim that the rabbi was “hiding bodies” on Chabad property. On the night he was arrested, Konin said Lyon called him repeatedly and told him that “Iran is coming to get you” and that the community should leave.

Lyon has a criminal record. He was convicted in 2019 of making threats and illegal weapons possession while violating a restraining order issued after domestic violence. In 2023, he was arrested again on suspicion of assault, vandalism, blocking a road, and resisting arrest. Lyon is from the family that owns Lion Raisins, a company founded more than 100 years ago and employing hundreds of workers. In March, he bought the house next to the Chabad center, valued at about $5.3 million, and the alleged harassment began afterward, according to the rabbi.