Police Open Hate Crime Investigation Into Man Who Screamed Obscenity at Protestors During Anti-Asian Violence Rally

Police in Diamond Bar, California announced that they’ve opened up a hate crime investigation into a man who drove past several people that were protesting violence against Asian Americans, ABC 7 reports.

The incident, which started as demonstrators crossed the street at a crosswalk in front of his car, also saw him yelling “F*ck China!” at the same group of people. In footage of the scene, the man makes a U-turn at a red light and almost hits some of the pedestrians as a result. If you got the sound on you can also hear him:

No injuries were reported.

Additional footage claiming to show the same man sees him pull over and once again yell “Fuck China” during a brief encounter where expletives are exchanged between him and a protestor. 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says the incident happened around noon on Sunday. 

“The brazenness of doing this at an Anti-Hate rally speaks to the level that people will go to harass and bully communities of color,” said L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn in a statement.

As we stated at the top, the incident is being probed as a hate crime. That decision was announced by L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.

A news release says the suspect’s license plate was captured in footage. The suspect is believed to be in his 50s, though police haven’t released any info beyond that.