An 82-year-old Washington state woman was charged with a hate crime for allegedly assaulting two Donald Trump-supporting Hispanic women.
The unnamed woman was arrested Monday on suspicion of committing a hate crime, though formal charges had not yet been filed, the Edmonds Police Department told local affiliate KOMO News.
Bodycam footage shows the woman telling police, “I approached her, and I said, ‘I want to know why you’re voting for Trump.’ That’s the only thing. And I said, ‘Because you’re brown-skinned.’
“I was a teacher, I hate the racism in this country. I hate how people are treated, and so my question was how a brown person can support this person,” she said. “And she immediately started screaming, ‘racist, racist.’”
“And my response was to push her away. And it wasn’t hard,” she said. “I didn’t help the situation.”
The 55-year-old victime told officers that the elderly woman had “gotten into her face,” commented on her clothes and skin color, and then pushed her and punched her on the chin.
A second victim, a 66-year-old Edmonds, WA woman, said when she saw what was happening, she intervened.
The 82-year-old suspect responded by punching her as well.
“The constitution protects peaceful rallies in our community, and community members should never be met with violence while exercising those rights. Our officers properly determined that this was more than just an assault and arrested the suspect for the appropriate charge,” Edmonds Police Department Chief Michelle Bennett said.
The suspect was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for hate crime and assault.
Police said that through the interview, the suspect showed “no remorse.”