'Asian pig': 19-year-old female charged with hate crime; cops say she punched, kicked man for not giving up seat on NYC subway train, made anti-Asian statements



Police said a 19-year-old female punched and kicked a man for refusing to give up his seat on a New York City subway train last month — and called him an "Asian pig" to boot.

Dream Commisso of Manhattan was arrested Tuesday night in East Harlem and booked on charges of assault as a hate crime, aggravated harassment, assault, menacing and harassment, the New York Post reported.

What are the details?

Police said Commisso — along with another woman and a man — were aboard a train from Grand Central to Times Square at 8 p.m. Nov. 19 when they approached a couple and demanded they give up their seats, the Post said.

The 42-year-old man and his 41-year-old female companion — both of whom are Asian — apparently refused to get up, the paper added.

With that, cops said the trio made anti-Asian statements at the man and punched and kicked him, the Post noted, adding that he was left with a small cut.

NBC News, citing police, said Commisso called the victim "an Asian pig."

The suspects fled the train at Times Square, the paper added.

The male victim refused medical attention for his minor injury, the Post said.

A public defender is representing Commisso, who's due back in Manhattan Criminal Court Dec. 5, the paper noted.

Second suspect nabbed

Police said Thursday they arrested a second suspect in connection with the alleged incident — an 18-year-old Bronx resident — and that one perp was still on the loose. "We are confident she will be brought to justice as well," police added.

Image source: NYPD Hate Crimes

Was that enough? Apparently not...

Police said the trio also are suspected of robbing a delivery person around 11 p.m. the same night in the area of East 105th Street.

NBC News said they approached a 40-year-old man who was riding an electric bicycle and demanded food from him.

He told them he didn't have food in his delivery bag, and the group "proceeded to rip the bag and strike him in the head," police said, according to the network.

They took his keys and "punched and kicked" him when he tried to get them back, police told NBC News.

Black college student claimed she was hate crime victim; campus protests erupted. But it was yet another hate hoax; student now charged with felonies.



A black college student who last month claimed she was a hate crime victim — which resulted in protests on the campus of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville — has been accused of making up the whole thing.

What are the details?

Kaliyeha A. Clark-Mabins, 19, was charged Friday with three counts of disorderly conduct for telling campus police that two notes were posted on her dormitory room door reading "BLACK PEOPLE DON'T BELONG" and "DIE BITCH," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, citing charging documents.

Campus Reform posted the charging documents identifying Clark-Mabins as a black female. The college's police department added in a statement that the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Clark-Mabins with filing a false police report and that the resulting disorderly conduct counts against her are class 4 felonies.

The Post-Dispatch said no lawyer was listed for Clark-Mabins, adding that she couldn't be immediately reached for comment.

Campus police added that its investigation — which also involved the U.S. Secret Service — concluded that two individuals originally accused have been cleared of any involvement.

University officials said they were "saddened by the harm" the accused pair "endured because of false accusations," the Post-Dispatch reported.

The paper said the school added: "Although false reporting of racial and bias incidents is isolated and rare, this case should remind every member of our community how important it is to preserve and protect due process and fairness in our procedures and communications."

Here's a video report that aired prior to the revelation that the hate crime accusation was fabricated:

SIUE police investigate racial incident on campusyoutu.be

What's the background?

Campus police on Jan. 23 said they received a report of a hate crime involving the posting of handwritten notes on the dorm room door in Woodland Residence Hall, along with an alleged anonymous text message thread from the fall of 2021 containing threatening and racially hostile content.

Students then launched protests in the wake of what appeared to be white-against-black hate crimes, KSDK-TV reported.

David Daniel, a senior and vice president of the Black Student Union on campus, told the station the school's administration sent a campus-wide email about a bias incident. Soon images of the sticky notes were being shared — and KSDK said text message images contained racial slurs and threats, including the N-word and "lynch."

Daniel then organized a demonstration during which students chanted and held up posters, the station said, adding that in one clip students were seen facing the college chancellor and other staff.

"They say it's under investigation, but I feel like [the accused] shouldn't be on campus period," Daniel added to KSDK. "Because you threatened to lynch students on this campus."

Black Lives Matter protester who demonstrated at Seattle's leftist CHOP zone charged with hate crimes against Asian-American women



A Black Lives Matter protester who demonstrated at Seattle's CHOP autonomous zone last summer has been charged with hate crimes against Asian-American women, KOMO-TV reported.

What are the details?

Seattle police arrested Christopher Hamner last month for two alleged incidents of anti-Asian hate attacks, the station said.

Pamela Cole told KOMO that Hamner threatened her and her young children when she tried to drive past him.

"He just opens his door and starts yelling at me 'F you, you Asian B! 'F you' kind of thing," Cole recalled to the station. "And then he pulls in the parking lot and comes charging at us."

Investigators said Hamner made similar anti-Asian hate threats to two other women just days later, KOMO added.

Cole noted to KCPQ-TV that Hamner also yelled at her, "Get out! Get out! Get out!" and that "me and my kids [were] just stuck" and that she felt "so helpless and defenseless as a mom."

Black Lives Matter

Nevertheless, KOMO reported that Hamner often was seen protesting with Black Lives Matter last summer and that he posted videos of himself on his social media accounts demonstrating at CHOP, the left-wing militant "autonomous zone" in downtown Seattle controlled by BLM and Antifa.

"Of course it strikes me as hypocritical, but I wasn't surprised to be completely honest," Cole told the station. "I wasn't shocked about it."

KOMO spoke with some leaders of the city's racial justice protests who remember Hamner, and they said he always seemed to be on the fringe. The station said one leader remembers his "creepy stares," and another characterized his actions as coming "out of left field."

A victim tried to help him

Cole told KOMO she reached out to Hamner's employers at a VA hospital to try to get him help since she doesn't believe putting him behind bars will do him any good.

"At the end of the day if he goes to jail, he still comes out as a racist full of hate," she noted to the station. "Nothing's changed. He didn't learn anything. ... There was no rehab in it, so to me it's pointless."

KOMO said Hamner remains in custody and is due to enter a plea on hate crime charges Thursday morning.

Stop Asian Hate rally held in Seattleyoutu.be

Woman charged with hate crime after calling McDonald's manager 'stupid Mexican,' physically attacking him



A 40-year-old woman was charged with a hate crime after calling a McDonald's manager a "stupid Mexican" and physically attacking him while calling other employees "dumb Mexicans ... who don't know how to speak English," the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said.

What are the details?

Authorities said Alena Jenkins was eating inside the Mountain View, California, restaurant just before 7 a.m. Saturday when employees asked her to wear a face mask.

After Jenkins' refusal to wear a mask following repeated requests, employees asked her to leave — and then Jenkins responded by saying to one employee, "[expletives deleted] Mexican! Go ahead and call the cops!" authorities said.

When the employee called police, Jenkins shoved a COVID-19 plexiglass shield and a sign at the employee, authorities said. She was also in violation of the restaurant's COVID-19 restrictions that prohibit patrons from dining inside the restaurant.

The store manager got involved and asked Jenkins to leave, after which she walked around the front counter and called the manager a "stupid Mexican" and punched him on the arm and shoulder, authorities said. Police said the employee she struck is Latino.

After police arrived, Jenkins called store employees "dumb Mexicans … who don't know how to speak English" as she spoke to officers, authorities said.

The hate crime charge against her as well as a battery charge are misdemeanors, authorities said. Police also said Jenkins, a transient, was in violation of probation and was taken to jail. According to jail records, Jenkins was not offered bail.

"Targeting people because of their perceived ethnicity is not just a shame, it's a crime," District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. "There is no excuse for hatred."

Police Chief Chris Hsiung added that "we will continue to hold those that commit crimes against others, simply based on their race, accountable. As I have said before, hate has no place in this community."

Hate crime suspect accused of threatening Asian woman, smashing her cellphone, telling her 'go back to China'



A hate crime suspect threatened an Asian woman on a New York City subway train Tuesday morning, smashed her cellphone, and told her to "go back to China," police told the New York Daily News.

The paper ran the same photos of the suspect in its story that appear in the below tweet from NYPD Transit:

Take a look at these photos and the distinctive clothing- This person is wanted for a hate crime after removing the… https://t.co/YDdPrfUepj
— NYPD Transit (@NYPD Transit)1616598883.0

What are the details?

The suspect was sitting across from the victim on a No. 7 train in Flushing in the borough of Queens about 11:30 a.m. when he told the 35-year-old woman to "go back to China" and "don't look at me, you COVID spreader," police told the Daily News.

The suspect also threatened to hurt the victim and go to Chinatown and attack others, police said, according to the paper.

When the victim's cellphone rang, she began speaking in her native language while recording the suspect — who reacted by grabbing the phone from her and smashing it on the ground, police told the Daily News.

The screen was damaged but the woman picked up her phone and ran to another car, the paper said, adding that her assailant got off at the nest stop, Mets-Willets Point.

The woman then gave her damaged phone to police, who recovered her video and released images to the public, the Daily News said.

The paper said the suspect is about 6-foot-4 and weighs about 180 pounds.

More of the same

It was the latest in an increasing number of anti-Asian attacks in New York City:

The NYPD noted that there have been at least 23 anti-Asian hate crimes this year compared to 29 during all of 2020, according to WABC-TV.

Hate crime suspect arrested after Asian woman punched twice in face in front of daughter, 7. They were on way to rally against violence toward Asians.



A 27-year-old man has been arrested and charged with a hate crime in connection to a physical attack against an Asian American woman while she was on her way to a rally against violence toward Asians, New York City police told WABC-TV.

What are the details?

The station spoke to the 37-year-old victim who didn't want to give her name. She was on her way to the rally in Union Square on Sunday morning with her 7-year-old daughter when she said the suspect approached her and asked for her sign, WABC reported.

She thought he also was heading to the rally, so she gave the sign to him — after which he began to tear it up and stuff it in a trash can, she told the station. When she confronted the man, he responded by punching her twice in the face, WABC said.

Image source: WABC-TV video screenshot

"He was destroying the sign and trying to put it in the trash can, so I walked forward and toward him saying, 'What are you doing?' And he just came in front of me and punched me in the face, and then I think I stopped for a little bit, and then I chased him," the mother told WABC. "And there were some people around as well, and I just wanted to get him and call the police."

The woman's face was cut and bruised in the attack, and she also sprained her ankle, the station said, adding that she was on crutches during her interview with WABC.

What happened next?

The station said several good Samaritans ran after the man into the Astor Place subway and were able to take photos of him.

Image source: WABC-TV video screenshot

"When you see something like that happening, it is your job to make sure they are seen and being heard," witness DeVonn Francis told WABC.

Image source: WABC-TV video screenshot

Witnesses also told the station that the suspect appeared emotionally disturbed before getting away on a train.

"He also flashed people on the train platform," Francis told WABC. "He dropped his underwear and showed his genitalia to everyone on the platform."

NYPD officials said Erick Deoliveira was arrested and charged with hate crime assault and criminal mischief as a hate crime, the station reported, adding that he's homeless.

APPREHENDED and charged with a HATE CRIME. @NYPDDetectives @NYPD109Pct @NYPD9Pct https://t.co/dRBgyhxQNw
— NYPD Hate Crimes (@NYPD Hate Crimes)1616456195.0

While shaken up following the attack, the victim told WABC that "Asians need to stay strong, but we still love this country, we still love the city, and this is our home."

Anything else?

The NYPD noted that there have been 23 anti-Asian hate crimes this year compared to 29 during all of 2020, the station said.

WABC reported that over the weekend a 66-year-old man was punched in Chinatown and a 54-year-old woman was struck in the face with a metal pipe by a man who reportedly yelled, "I came here to [expletive] up Asians." Elias Guerrero, 38, was apprehended at the scene of the latter incident and is charged with assault as a hate crime, resisting arrest, harassment, criminal possession of a weapon, and criminal possession of controlled substance, the station said.

In addition, a witness said an attacker yelled "you motherf***ing Asian" at a 68-year-old man before punching him in the face Friday on a New York City subway train.

Also a man urinated on an Asian woman aboard a Queens-bound subway train over the weekend, police told the New York Post.

Attacker yelled 'you motherf***ing Asian' at 68-year-old man before punching him in face, witness says



An attacker yelled "you motherf***ing Asian" at a 68-year-old man before punching him in the face on a New York City subway train, according to witness who spoke to the New York Daily News.

What are the details?

The victim was minding his own business when the attacker boarded the Tribeca train about 2:40 p.m. Friday, the paper said, citing sources.

Witness George Okrepkie told the Daily News the attacker yelled "you motherf***ing Asian" at the victim. The attacker threw what appeared to be a balled-up newspaper before punching the man, Okrepkie added to the paper. The Daily News said the 6-foot, 2-inch attacker's punch left the victim covered in blood that dripped down his jacket.

"I was in a state of shock," Okrepkie, the 55-year-old CEO of AX Trading, who was sitting across from the victim, told the paper. "It's an incredibly disgusting attack on an Asian American."

George OkrepkieImage source: WNBC-TV video screenshot

Okrepie added to the Daily News that he "tried to go after the assailant, but he took off," after which he "went back to the elderly gentleman, took off my scarf and wrapped it around him, waiting for the EMT and NYPD to show up."

Medics rushed the victim to a hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition, police told the paper.

"I took photos of the incident to show that crimes keep happening in NYC subways week after week," Okrepkie added to the Daily News. "I just had lunch with a friend of mine who is Asian American, and it's brutal to see the rise in crimes against Asian Americans."

Family members of victim Narayange Bodhi told WNBC-TV that the Sri Lanka native suffered facial bruises and had no memory of the attack.

Caught!

Surveillance cameras captured images of the alleged attacker walking through the subway station looking at his cellphone:

WANTED for AN Assault inside of the Franklin and Varick Street Subway Station  . #manhattan@NYPD1pct@NYPDTD2 on 3/1… https://t.co/aj9lsrh3Hf
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPD Crime Stoppers)1616297587.0

Police found 36-year-old Marc Mathieu, a Bronx resident, as he rode a Manhattan-bound Staten Island Ferry and arrested him on assault charges Sunday, the paper said, adding that police said he wasn't immediately charged with a hate crime, although the investigation was continuing.

⚠️ARRESTED⚠️Thanks to an exhaustive video canvass by @NYPDTransit Detectives, cops recognized this man from his i… https://t.co/X5fg4OMNdB
— Commissioner Shea (@Commissioner Shea)1616373346.0

Anything else?

Okrepkie also spoke to WNBC, noting that he's "a 9/11 survivor, I've got stage-4 cancer because of my exposure to toxic dust at 9/11, I've been riding the subways for 30 years — I've never seen anything like [the attack.] I felt safer on 9/11 than I did at that moment."

The Daily News said this latest attack comes as subway violence has increased despite a roughly 75% drop in ridership since the pandemic — and all while crimes and attacks against Asian Americans have increased.

Here's the WNBC report about the attack which aired prior to the suspect's arrest: