Seattle man charged with assault, hate crime for attacks on 3 Asian women

July 18, 2022

A man is facing hate crime and assault charges after allegedly attacking multiple Asian women in downtown Seattle last week.

Michael John Allen, 40, was charged with fourth-degree assault for hitting one of the women in the back of her head while yelling expletives at her in the 500 block of Olive Way on July 11, according to King County prosecutors.

The victim reportedly told Seattle police that the attack was “unprovoked.” She recalled the suspect screaming “You f*cking dumb bitch,” “I hate you” and “F*ck you, I hate you!” at her. However, she reportedly does not believe she was attacked because of her gender or race.

The woman called the police while Allen was allegedly involved in another incident. Shortly after the first attack, he allegedly targeted two other Asian women, telling them to “Go back to China!” He then punched one of them in the left shoulder, as per charging documents.

The second alleged attack occurred in the area of Third Avenue and Union Street. The pair of Chinese nationals were visiting Seattle, and they believe they were targeted because they are Asian.

Tanya Woo, a volunteer with the local Chinatown International District Community Watch, said she is not surprised about the latest attacks.

“Hate crimes toward Asians have been happening. They’ve just been underreported,” Woo told KOMO News. “We hear about these incidents every day happening to people here in Chinatown, the International District, but we’re heavily trying to get people to report them.”

King County prosecutors have reportedly filed 235 hate crime charges since 2018, with attacks against someone’s race or ethnicity being the most common. On June 28, a Seattle woman with a history of making racist remarks toward a Black woman in the neighborhood of Belltown allegedly twisted a lanyard hanging from the latter’s neck, resulting in an abrasion.

Allen, who has no previous felonies, was arrested and booked into King County Jail. Prosecutors are seeking a $30,000 bail.

Featured Image via FOX 13 Seattle

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