A Florida native woman Madeline Barker has been charged with hate crimes after she allegedly made Asian racist comments.
A 47-year-old woman named Madeline Barker pepper sprayed four women on 11th July in New York City.
Here is everything you need to know.
Madeline Barker was charged with hate crime for making racist remarks in Manhattan
As per the reports by the New York City Police department, Madeline Barker was locked in a heated argument with four Asian women.
The incident reportedly took place at the intersection of 14th Street and Ninth Avenue in Chelsea around 6 pm.
The cops reported at the scene when their verbal altercation escalated. During that time, Barker allegedly attacked the women with pepper spray.
However, before the New York Police arrived Barker had fled from the scene. They found her due to the viral clips and images of her that were circulating on social media.
Regardless, Barker was arraigned in court on 18th July Saturday. She was formally charged with two counts of assault as a hate crime, two counts of attempted assault as a hate crime, and four counts of harassment as a hate crime.
Following her arraignment, Barker is presently being held at Rikers Island on $20,000 bail.
Why did Madeline Barker attack the women?
The four victims claimed that they were visiting a public plaza when Barker approached them. They said that without any provocation she started hurling anti-Asian comments at them.
Barker reportedly launched into a racist tirade and said, ‘Go back to where you came from, go back to your country.’
According to one of the victims, Barker also supposedly said, ‘Take your b****es back to where you all came from.’
Response to Anti-Asian hate crimes
Reportedly local activists and civic leaders are using Madeline Barker’s example to curb anti-Asian hate crimes.
Brian Chin of Alliance for Community Preservation and Betterment, said that initiatives need to be formulated to deter xenophobic violence.
He mentioned, ‘Any and all charges against Madeline Barker are welcomed, but in my opinion more needs to be done.’
Chin further added, ‘In order for people to start feeling safe again and for tourists to want to come back to our city, a strong and clear message must be sent.’
He continued, ‘If you randomly and maliciously attack someone because of the color of their skin, the shape of their eyes, or because they are speaking a foreign language, the full extent of the law will crack down upon you.’