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Madeline Barker, a 47-year-old Florida local, has been charged with anti-Asian hate crimes after allegedly making racist remarks and pepper spraying four women on June 11, in New York City.
According to the New York City Police department, Barker engaged in an argument with the women at around 6 pm, in the neighborhood of Chelsea. Police responded to the scene after the argument escalated and Barker reportedly began attacking the women with pepper spray.
She was 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.
The incident was recorded on video. As per police, the victims of the attack told authorities they did not require medical attention.
Why did Madeline Barker allegedly attack four women?
According to Law and Crime, the four victims claimed that they were in a public plaza when Madeline Barker approached them and began making anti-Asian statements.
CBS reported that when the verbal altercation began, Barker had her back to the women. Then, apparently without any provocation, she turned around and claimed that they were harassing her.
According to WABC reporter CeFaan, Barker launched into a racist tirade.
She supposedly said:
“Go back to where you came from, go back to your country.”
The Asian-American women, who are lifelong New York residents, said that they began to record when Madeline Barker continued to harass them.
One woman said:
“Then she turned to an Asian bystander who we didn’t know and said, Take your b****es back to where you all came from.”
As per the New York Post, it was around then that Barker began assaulting the women with pepper spray. By the time authorities reported to the scene, she had left. However, using footage from the videos, New York Police spread images of her, leading to a tip-off from a bystander who saw the suspect on the street.
Madeline Barker is currently being held at Rikers Island on $20,000 bail.
Response to Anti-Asian hate crimes
The New York Post reported that civic leaders have called for Barker to be used as an example to curb anti-Asian hate crime.
Brian Chin, a spokesperson of the Alliance for Community Preservation and Betterment, spoke about how initiatives need to be taken to deter xenophobic violence.
He said:
“Any and all charges against Madeline Barker are welcomed, but in my opinion more needs to be done.”
He continued:
“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. 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.”
According to an official report by the FBI, the number of anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 73% last year.
