A 39-year-old Olympia man is in the King County Jail for investigation of hate crime and robbery after an attack reported at Seacrest Pier. According to case documents we obtained this morning, a group of people was fishing at Seacrest just after 12:40 am Tuesday when the man approached them and said they should be speaking English (the police report says they were speaking Chinese). He also told them, the report says, they needed to “assimilate because this is America.” The police summary adds:
The suspect told the victims that they need to go back to their country, and that he is done with them. The suspect threatened to throw them in the water. The victims were scared, and another victim heard the threats and cursing. The fourth victim pulled out his phone to call 911, and the suspect forcefully took the victim’s new cell phone and threw it in the water. The suspect then pushed the victim and attempted to punch him.
Court documents say members of the group then held the man down while police were called. One witness had recorded video and showed it to police, who arrested the man and booked him into jail, where he remains, with bail set at $75,000, and another hearing scheduled this afternoon.