A man who drove through a Stop Asian Hate rally and yelled anti-Asian slurs in Diamond Bar, California, more than a year ago was arrested on federal charges on Thursday.
Steve Lee Dominguez, 56, is facing two counts of bias-motivated interference with federal protected activities. He reportedly ran a red light on March 21, 2021, to block protesters and scream racial slurs at them.
A video of the incident, which occurred at the intersection of South Diamond Bar Boulevard and Grand Avenue, shows a black Honda Civic driving through about a dozen people who carried signs with messages such as “Stop Asian Hate” and “End the Violence Against Asians.” After making a U-turn, the driver can be heard screaming “F*ck China!” before taking off.
A now-unavailable video showed the driver pulling over after being followed by at least one protester, who recorded his license plate. He could be heard yelling “F*ck China!” once again before screaming “F*ck you!” at the protestor.
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Dominguez’s indictment accused him of yelling “Go back to China!” as well. After the incident, he reportedly contacted the authorities and falsely reported that protesters were blocking the street, forcing him to run a red light “because they were about to trample my car.”
Dominguez also requested that the authorities “get some control out” where the incident took place, according to the indictment. If convicted of his charges, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Anyone with more information regarding the incident is urged to contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565 or report tips online at https://tips.fbi.gov.
