A Florida woman who allegedly made anti-Asian remarks to women was arrested on hate crime charges, including assault and harassment, on Friday in New York City.
Madeline Barker, 47, from Merritt Island, Florida, has been accused of using pepper spray toward four women in addition to the remarks, CNN reported.
The alleged attack in the city’s Meatpacking District is part of an uptick in hate crimes toward Asian people in recent years.
A report from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism found anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 339% in 2021 compared with the year before, NBC News reported. The report indicated New York City’s anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 343% in 2021.
Three of the four Asian victims, in an interview with New York news outlet WABC-TV, said the attack began after a woman “picked an argument” with them on the street on June 11.
The victims said the attacker asked them to “go back to where [they] came from,” said “you don’t belong here” and told an Asian man walking by to “take all your bitches back to your country.”
The victims added they tried to do the right thing by distancing themselves and one said the pepper spray caused her to be unable to open her eyes for 30 minutes.
It’s unclear who is serving as Barker’s attorney; the Legal Aid Society did not immediately respond to a HuffPost query as to whether it would be representing Barker.
