A CBS News crew in Chicago was viciously attacked by three men who allegedly hurled racial slurs at the cameraman.

The suspects – Jon Twist, 37, of McKinley Park, Illinois; Rafael Salinas, 29, of Clearing; and William Huerta, 41, of Chicago Ridge – are now facing at least one felony count each for the hateful attack.

The attackers allegedly pulled their tow truck directly in front of the news van on Monday night before menacing the crew.

A CBS News Chicago reporter and cameraman were sitting in the vehicle at the time. They had been preparing for a live report from the Adler Planetarium just before 4.30pm, according to NBC Chicago.

One of the CBS employees then watched as a man, later identified as Twist, exited the vehicle with a German shepherd.

He allegedly then began shouting racial obscenities as he approached the 54-year-old cameraman, who is black, and asked the photographer if he was scared, a law enforcement official told the Chicago Tribune.

Twist also allegedly ordered the dog to attack the cameraman, but the dog did not obey, prompting Twist to kick the dog and ‘aggressively’ approach the other CBS employee, asking them if they were scared as well.

‘They just were trying to do anything they could to scare them unnecessarily. It came out of nowhere,’ one witness told CBS News Chicago.

At that point, the cameraman said he feared for his life as he picked up a foldable lawn chair and struck Twist – who one witness said was not affected.

Jon Twist, 37, of McKinley Park, Illinois is facing a hate crime charge after he allegedly hurled slurs at a CBS News Chicago cameraman and tried to get a dog to attack him

Rafael Salinas, 29, of Clearing and William Huerta, 41, of Chicago Ridge, were also charged in the attack

‘And he swung it and hit the guy in the head. And he was unfazed. Like he got hit hard by that chair, for good reason, and it didn’t even, like, flinch him,’ the witness recounted.

‘And I think he hit him again, if I remember correctly, he hit him again and he’s still unflinched and I’m like, this guy is like, he’s on something. He’s got to be.’

Twist and the dog then chased after the crew member.

Meanwhile, Salinas allegedly ran from the tow truck to where the crew had been standing and threw the camera equipment to the ground, causing more than $100,000 in damage.

He then continued to approach the reporter and the cameraman, who jumped onto a sidewalk near the lakeshore to get away from them and called 911, prosecutors claim.

One of the news crew members said they then heard glass breaking before the men fled, and found the front windshield of their news truck shattered when they returned. Neither news crew member was injured in the assault.

When officers then arrived on the scene, they circulated a description of the tow truck the men were traveling in – and a beat cop on patrol saw a truck matching the description traveling westbound on West 43rd Street. 

He also recognized that it was the same vehicle named in an alert about a previous assault with a weapon. 

The news crew fled the scene as the men approached, but returned to find the windshield of their vehicle smashed in

The officers then saw the driver, later identified as Huerta, traveling at a high rate of speed, disregarding traffic signals and driving into oncoming traffic.

At that point, the police officers activated their emergency lights and began to pursue the tow truck.

During the pursuit, Huerta allegedly blew through multiple stop signs and brake-checked officers, causing them to rear-end the tow truck.

When the pursuit then continued, Huerta allegedly once again slammed on his brakes before placing the tow truck in reverse and driving at the officers, who began to fear they would crash again. 

The tow truck ultimately crashed into a concrete pole in an alley near the 3600 block of South California Avenue in the city’s Brighton Park neighborhood, and the three men – as well as an unidentified fourth person – exited the vehicle and fled on foot.

Officers were then able to catch up with the suspects and take them into custody.

But before apprehending Salinas, prosecutors say he slapped a uniformed officer in the face with an open hand.

A loaded high-powered rifle was then retrieved from the truck. 

Twist previously served seven years in jail for an aggravated kidnapping in 2006, as well as time behind bars for a towing scam in which he preyed on accident victims

Twist is now facing a felony charge of criminal damage to property and a misdemeanor count of resisting an officer. He is also charged with committing a hate crime.

Salinas is also facing one felony count of aggravated battery to a peace officer and one felony count of criminal damage between $10,000 and $100,000, as well as two misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct and resisting police.

Huerta, meanwhile, was charged with one felony count of fleeing and attempting to elude officers.

He also faces various traffic citations and several misdemeanor counts related to aggravated assault of a state of Illinois employee, reckless driving and leaving the scene. 

Court records obtained by CBS News show Twist previously served seven years in jail for an aggravated kidnapping in 2006, as well as time behind bars for a towing scam in which he preyed on accident victims.

He also has an order of protection against him for threatening to burn a woman’s house down.

Huerta was also previously charged with attempted first-degree murder, but the charges were dropped.

Still, he served six years in prison for aggravated battery with a firearm in 2003.

Salinas also had an active warrant against him in May for fleeing from police following a hit and run.

Additionally, all three men have previously been accused of using tow trucks to commit further crimes.

They were all ordered on Thursday to remain in custody ahead of their next court appearance on July 8.