A 51-year-old African-American man has been arrested in Seattle on suspicion of assaulting Asians. The man attacked Asian women twice in a week. Inexplicably, however, Hamner also spoke out about the Atlanta shooting, denouncing “racial hate crimes” and being a participant in the “Black Lives Matter” protests.
The first case reportedly occurred on 16 March. The attacker, Hamner, verbally abused Pamela Rakor, a Chinese woman, and then punched himself in the face and threatened to get out of the car with her two children. LaKor, who was attacked, said she took several photos of Hamna before quickly driving away.
Also on March 16, three massage parlours in Atlanta were hit by a series of shootings. The tragedy left eight people dead, six of them Asian women. Two days later, Hamner publicly condemned the shooting on his social media account, calling it a “racial hate crime.” He has also posted photos and videos on social networking sites of himself taking part in the “Black Lives Matter” protest in the summer of 2020.
By March 19, however, Hamner was accused of intercepting two Asian women on the road and swearing at them again. Hamner also allegedly smashed plastic into the vehicle driven by the two men. Cameras in the vehicle where the two Asian women were in recorded Hamner’s behavior, allowing police to identify him.
Hamner was charged with one hate crime for both attacks, but pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned last week. Hamner’s bail was set at $10,000.
At the hearing, lawyers argued that Hamner was mentally ill, saying his client was a Navy veteran who worked at a Seattle Veterans Hospital.
Hamner is also reported to be a member of a community church with many Asian members and a pastor who is Also Japanese-American. Some members of the community church also testified at the hearing that Hamner would attend the service with the Asian community.
“He’s interested in joining a multi-ethnic group that includes Asians, pastors, and Japanese-Americans,” said Peter Hayson, a member of Hamner’s community church. You don’t want to find someone there who’s been charged with a hate crime. ”
