Man arrested for hate crime after video captures racist rant at San Ramon In-N-Out, police say
A man who was caught on video spewing racist, homophobic remarks to a woman and her friend at a San Ramon In-N-Out on Christmas Eve has been arrested.
SAN RAMON, Calif. (KGO) — A man who was caught on video spewing racist and homophobic remarks to a woman and her friend at a San Ramon In-N-Out on Christmas Eve has been arrested, according to police.
Danville on Christmas morning was the last place and time Abigail Halili and her siblings expected to have an abrasive encounter.
INTERACTIVE: Take a look at the ABC7 Neighborhood Safety Tracker
“We heard a guy parked in his car yelling from his window saying keep walking you need to get away from that store, ‘you’ve been the people vandalizing and robbing theses shops,'” said Halili.
The taunts quickly turned racial and included an obscene hand gesture.
“We didn’t know what to do and he kept going on and on saying ‘you’re Filipino idiots. You probably sell cocaine. You’re dealers,'” says Halili.
RELATED: Man charged with hate crime after anti-Hindu tirade at Fremont Taco Bell
Thanks to social media the Halili family quickly learned they weren’t the only Asian Americans in the East Bay to be targeted by these racist rants.
San Ramon Police ABC7 News the suspect seen in Halili’s video is the man they arrested Monday afternoon, linked to a racist and homophobic tirade at an In-N-Out in San Ramon on Christmas Eve.
Arine Kim and her friend Elliot Ha were filming a video for TikTok when they too say a man approached them at random, pelting them with insults so vulgar… they tried to laugh it off.
Over the holiday weekend, a woman and her friend experienced a homophobic, racist rant at a San Ramon In-N-Out.
You can hear a man off camera say “…you guys filming yourself eating? You’re weird homosexuals.”
Ha can be seen quickly responding to the man, deflecting from the severity of what was happening.
“In the moment didn’t take it seriously, but afterward it started hitting me, wow this is serious,” said Ha.
Like what happened in Danville, the hate speech quickly escalates.
The man leaves at one point and returns asking, “Are you Japanese or Korean?” When Ha responds that he is Korean the man responds with “You’re Kim Jong Un’s boyfriend?” And moments later says, “Normally I could spin in your face…that’s some Filipino s**t.”
After ABC7’s story aired Christmas night, San Ramon Police say they were inundated with tips from the public. That helped lead to the arrest of a Denver man with ties to the Bay Area.
EXCLUSIVE: Neighbor’s racist rant against Chinese family caught on camera in San Jose
A San Jose couple is trying to raise awareness after a hate incident occurred right on their front porch.
Both sets of victims realize the power of speaking out.
“Making it not seem like a big deal, I think a lot of Asian people do that… I want to bring more awareness to this and make people realize how bad it is,” said Kim.
Her sentiment is shared by Adriana Halili as well.
“I want people to learn hate crimes against asian Americans is a very real thing,” said Halili.
TAKE ACTION: Resources to help the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community
The individual, who we are choosing not to name or show his face because he has not been charged was booked on two counts of hate crimes with more pending.
During a time when hate crimes toward Asian Americans has surged the Anjo Halili family believes the swift arrest sends a strong message to the community.
“It makes me feel safe that people are starting to take these crimes seriously,” said Halili.
Suspect wanted after person wearing a hijab threatened in downtown Toronto
Joanna LavoieOpens in new window
Police are searching for a suspect who allegedly threatened a person wearing a hijab in downtown Toronto.
The incident, which is being treated as a “suspected hate-motivated offence,” happened on Oct. 27 near Bay and Front streets.
Investigators said that a male approached a person wearing a hijab and allegedly made derogatory comments before uttering threats.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
The victim was not injured.
The suspect is described as a male with an average build and a beard. He was last seen wearing beige pants with a dark hooded jacket.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-3500, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477 (TIPS) or www.222tips.com.
Related Stories
- Charges laid after assaults at Toronto mosque, taxi driver and woman wearing hijab sprayed with foreign substance
- Toronto has seen a ‘staggering’ increase in hate crime reports since Israel-Gaza war: police chief
- Man charged after allegedly assaulting individual in North York, making homophobic remarks
- Man arrested after allegedly threatening Toronto cop over transgender flag display
Ousted NDP MLA reaches out to Calgary constituents
By
Michael Franklin – CTV Calgary
Published: May 27, 2015 at 7:10AM EDT
Deborah Drever, the MLA for the riding of Calgary-Bow, is reaching out to the people who voted her into office, apologizing for a series of online missteps that ended up with her suspension from the NDP caucus.
On her Facebook page, Drever is apologizing to the gay and lesbian community after an Instagram image depicting Conservative party members along with a homophobic caption circulated last week.
Other images have also gotten Drever into trouble, including an album cover featuring the MLA as a victim of sexual assault, photos of her posing with a marijuana t-shirt, and one with a lewd gesture aimed at the Canadian flag.
The Calgary-Bow MLA has now addressed all the images, apologizing for all of them.
“My flippant attempt at humour backfired and I sincerely apologize to my constituents and to all Albertans for that,” Drever wrote. “I am also sorry that I was the source of significant distraction from what should have been a time of celebration for Premier Notley and the NDP caucus. I appreciate the Premier’s past advice and will live up to the expectations she has set out for me over the coming months.”
The controversy around Deborah Drever has shown that, going forward into the digital world, politicians will be under a lot more scrutiny online.
Political scientist Melanee Thomas says that it will only become more vital as representatives are younger.
“This means that there is going to be scrutiny that other generations haven’t faced before and I think we need to have a conversation about what’s appropriate to have scrutinized, and what isn’t. Lots of stuff isn’t scrutinized for other politicians. I think it’s worth asking whether it’s okay to troll through someone’s Instagram feed and use that to pillory them.”
Drever also vowed to earn back the trust of her constituents every single day she is in office.
