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Fresno Raisin Heir Bruce Lion Arrested for Allegedly Threatening Rabbi
Image of GV Wire news director and columnist Bill McEwen
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 3 days ago on
June 15, 2026

Bruce Alfred Lion, 64, heir to the Lion Raisins fortune, is in Los Angeles County Jail facing felony charges after allegedly directing antisemitic slurs and racist taunts to a rabbi in a Pacific Palisades neighborhood. (GV Wire File)

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Lions Raisin magnate Bruce Alfred Lion is in trouble with the law again.

According to published reports, police arrested the 64-year-old Lion in Pacific Palisades on Saturday after he allegedly threatened a rabbi.

Videos allegedly showed him shouting antisemitic slurs toward the rabbi’s property and interrupting religious gatherings, KTLA reported.

Los Angeles County jail records indicate bail for Lion is $50,000 and he faces felony charges. He is scheduled to appear in court at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Lion Bought Home Next to Rabbi Earlier This Year

Rabbi Zushe Cunin said that Lion repeatedly voiced racist and antisemetic slurs to him and congregation members after buying the home earlier this year.

“I want them to know they’re going to hell, and it makes me happy,” Lion told The New York Post.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park condemned the alleged conduct in a statement.

“The hate and harassment directed at a rabbi and members of his congregation in Pacific Palisades is reprehensible and deeply disturbing,” Park said. “Let me be clear: hate has no home in Pacific Palisades, in Council District 11, or anywhere in the City of Los Angeles.”

Lion’s Previous Legal Run-Ins

In 2019, Fresno County Superior Court Judge Michael Idiart sentenced Lion to time served and two years’ probation for making criminal threats and illegal gun possession.

In late 2023, Fresno police arrested Lion at the home of his ex-wife on North Van Ness Boulevard. Lion violated a restraining order, officers said at the time.

In September of that year, Monterey County sheriff’s deputies arrested Lion for allegedly throwing rocks at cars and assaulting construction workers and deputies along Highway 1 in Carmel Highlands. In that case, he faced charges of assault, false imprisonment, resisting arrest, and assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm.

The outcome of those cases isn’t clear from available on-line records.

 

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Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at bmcewen@gvwire.com
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