A 52-year-old woman from San Leandro in Alameda County, CA, was arrested for posting several xenophobic letters on the neighborhood homes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nancy Arechiga of San Leandro was arrested for “inappropriate posts towards minorities” on Friday night, according SF Gate.
Arechiga was photographed on Friday after she posted her xenophobic letters on one of the houses. Facebook user Trinny Wynn shared a few pictures of the woman as well as her letter.
“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. Leave this place,” Arechiga wrote in one of her handwritten letters. “You have until the day May 23, 2020, Saturday 10:30 a.m. to leave this country place no Asian allowed. My Country USA.”
That wasn’t the only racist letter found in San Leandro.
Here’s another one, (left) same handwriting it seems, found by another POC earlier in the week. #HateIsAVirus #COVIDー19 pic.twitter.com/GIeJigHtf5
— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) May 23, 2020
Trinh, who only wanted to be referred to by her first name out of safety concerns, told ABC7 that her brother found one of the letters on Friday evening.
“It was shocking and the whole family was really shaken up at it. I can’t comprehend hatefulness reading this letter send chills down my spine,” she said.
“It was very heartbreaking to know that there are people out there who believe that this is OK.”
Just spoke to Trihn who found not only a racist letter on her family’s home in San Leandro but another on a tree in her neighborhood. #hateisavirus #CoronaVirusUpdates pic.twitter.com/15cq9zh6eO
— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) May 24, 2020
However, Arichiga was forced to be released from jail as the state of California orders a statewide emergency order that sets the bail for most misdemeanor and lower-level felony offenses to $0 as a way to curb the spread of the virus in its jails.
This decision did not sit well with Trinh, she said, “It just tells me they don’t take a hate crime seriously.”
San Leandro Mayor Pauline Cutter said in a statement they were aware of the incident where a woman posts xenophobic letters on public places and on homes in the neighborhoods.
“I am aware of reports that a woman was posting flyers containing anti-Asian messages at residences and public places in our community yesterday,” Cutter said. “I’d like to commend our Police Department for taking this situation extremely seriously. They were able to identify the person responsible within a matter of hours and take appropriate action right away.”
“The City of San Leandro is committed to being a welcoming place for everyone. There is no place for hate in our community.”
“San Leandro is a community of beautifully diverse people, who share a common desire to live in harmony, and free from intimidation,” San Leandro Police Lieutenant Isaac Benabou said. “We welcome people’s rights to express themselves, but not in a manner that infringes upon a community’s sense of security and wellbeing.”
“We are a strong family and we will move forward,” Trinh said in her message to Arichiga. “We’re very forgiving so we just hope that for this woman whatever she’s going through she’ll find peace at the end of the day.”
Feature Image via Trinny Wynn
