Hate crime charges filed in Christmas Day attack on Korean tourists mistaken for Chinese in Seattle

Prosecutors this week in Seattle filed a hate crime charge against a man who’s accused of screaming “I hate Chinese” during a Christmas day attack on Korean tourists.

KOMO News reports that according to court documents, Aaron Charles Rowe,30, followed the group of men into a movie theater. The men hid, but when the theater closed, Rowe allegedly followed them out and hit one of them in the back and another in the face.

The four men also accuse Rowe of saying “f*cking Chinese” and “coward” at them.

Rowe has had 16 warrants for his arrest since 2016. Police arrested him the same night of the attack for stealing two umbrellas from a hotel valet and smashing a hotel window.

Many people in Seattle told KOMO the attack did not surprise them.

The Daily Beast reports Rowe is being held on $15,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on January 13.

This is the second attack in recent months on Asians in Seattle. Back in October, police arrested a man for the beating of a man from Hong Kong at Seattle’s iconic Pike Place.