Idaho Man Arrested after Threatening Iraqi Students

BOISE, Idaho (KTVB) -- A 42-year-old Boise man was arrested Tuesday after deputies say he physically and verbally targeted a group of Iraqi youths at a scenic overlook near Lucky Peak last month.

Brian Gail Olson is accused of harassing the students Oct. 4. According to the Ada County Sheriff's Office, the five students, who range in age from 16 to 20, were parked at an overlook on Idaho 21 south of Mores Creek Bridge. The group was taking pictures, listening to music and looking at the view when Olson and three other men pulled up in a pickup truck.

The students say Olson got out and yelled cultural slurs at them before ripping a necklace off one of one teen's neck and knocking a can of soda from his hand. Deputies say Olson grabbed another of the students by the collar and asked him if he could swim, referencing the river far below.

The youths say he spit at them before rummaging through their car, finding a soccer ball and flinging it into the road. The students, who attend a Boise-area high school, said the man smelled like alcohol and that several beer cans fell from his pickup when he got out. They reported the incident to their high school's resource officer several days later, who alerted the sheriff's office.