A California 52-year-old woman was detained on suspicion of publishing racist hand-written fliers urging Asians to flee the U.S. and “go back to your home,” police report.
Nancy Arechiga of San Leandro was booked into custody in the San Francisco Bay Area jail and later released under measures to avoid crowding amid the coronavirus pandemic, police claim in a statement.
Police discovered Arechiga in the Heron Bay area of San Leandro on Friday night, where she had put hand-written notices on at least five homeowners’ front doors, police said.
“You, because we consider you’re a stranger, one bad person for this country, leave, go far away, go back to your country, the place you belong,” stated one of the notes, reported The San Francisco Chronicle. “Leave this place.”
“You have until the day May/23/2020 Saturday 10:30 am to leave this country,” the note read, according to the publication. “In this place, no Asian allowed. My Country USA.”
Arechiga was identified by police after being caught on a Ring doorbell video posting one of the notes at a home, the release says. A related notice was discovered on a neighboring trail Thursday.
Resident Trinny Wynn posted on Facebook photos of a woman posting the notes on homes.
“We the people do ordain you to leave this house,” reads part of a statement seen in the post illustration. “One American, white, brave, that serves the nation of USA is going to live here.”
When Arechiga was found around 7 p.m. by officers they found five similar notes in her backpack in the vicinity Friday, police said. “San Leandro is a community of beautifully diverse people, who share a common desire to live in harmony and free from intimidation,” said Lt. Isaac Benabou said in the release. “We welcome people’s rights to express themselves but not in a manner that infringes upon a community’s sense of security and well-being.”
Mayor Pauline Cutter, in a post to the city’s Facebook account, commended the police for rapidly apprehending Arechiga.
“The City of San Leandro is committed to being a welcoming place for everyone,” Cutter wrote. “There is no place for hate in our community.”
Police also requested those with incident details to call the San Leandro Police Department at 510-577-2740.
A recent Ipsos poll found that the Center for Public Integrity reported that 30 per cent of Americans witnessed someone blaming Asians for coronavirus that started in China. Sixty per cent of Asian-Americans say they have seen the same behaviour.
The police have reported spikes in hate crimes against Asians and Asian-Americans in New York and other U.S. cities, reports WABC.
