A Southern California man punched an Asian American woman in the head and shouted slurs at her as she lay injured in the street. Now he has pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime.
The victim, who is unnamed in the plea agreement, was walking to work in Culver City at 1 a.m. on June 14, 2021. Jesse Lindsey, 38, described as a homeless man who last lived in Fontana, approached the victim, whom he perceived to be Asian, prosecutors said.
“You can’t say hi to a motherf— white boy?” he reportedly yelled, before punching the victim and knocking her down.
According to prosecutors, Lindsey shouted, “You hear what I said?” and referred to the woman using the N-word. “I said good morning, b—.” The victim received 11 stitches for her injuries after hitting her head on the street when she fell.
“Hate-fueled acts of violence have no place in our society,” said U.S. Dist. Atty. Martin Estrada in a release. “Enforcing civil rights goes to the core of my office’s mission and we will continue to prosecute hate crimes, especially those committed by individuals whose bigotry results in physical harm to victims.”
Lindsey pleaded guilty last month. According to the agreement, he admitted to investigators that he attacked the victim and said he was afraid of her attacking him.
He made racist connections between her and Jet Li, an Asian actor known for his martial arts prowess, saying the victim might have pulled “some Jet Li s—,” along with other racially charged statements about Asian people, court documents said.
“The facts of this case shock the conscience,” Akil Davis, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said in the release. “Mr. Lindsey’s actions were heinous, despicable, and inhumane. Violating the civil rights of others by engaging in racial violence is antithetical to our values as Americans.”
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March. Lindsey faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
