An arrest was made following an incident of anti-Asian hatred that took place over the Christmas holiday weekend in California’s East Bay.
San Ramon Police Chief Denton Carlson announced the arrest of suspect Jordan Douglas Krah in a tweet Monday night. Krah, a Denver, Colorado resident, is facing hate crime charges and is currently being held at the Martinez Correctional Facility in Martinez, Calif., the chief said.
“The San Ramon Police Department strives to ensure everyone in our community feels safe and welcome. We will continue to take swift and diligent legal action against acts of hate to help create an inclusive place to live, work and visit for all,” the department said said in a press release.
On Christmas Eve, Arine Kim and boyfriend Elliot Ha were eating at an In-N-Out burger in San Ramon when they were approached by a man who cornered them with racial slurs.
The couple recorded a TikTok video trying out menu items as he approached, calling them “weird homosexuals” before returning to make other bigoted comments about their race and ethnicity.
“I personally couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think it was real, it was so random,” Ha, who initially responded with nervous, shocked humor, told San Francisco ABC station KGO.
“It’s a fear response, so you’re nervous and you don’t know what to do in this situation other than laugh at it,” Kim said, adding that she was grateful for Has’s humor at the time.
In the video, Ha said he had never experienced anything like this. For Kim, however, it was an unfortunate reminder of hate speech she has encountered in the past.
She told KGO that this is not the first time she has been attacked with racial slurs and swear words.
Arine Kim and her boyfriend Elliot Ha are subjected to racist and homophobic comments by a stranger at an In-N-Out restaurant in San Ramon.
Ariane Kim
In the video, Kim said the man stared at her from outside the restaurant for a while and asked her to let the fast-food restaurant staff escort her to the parking lot, fearing they would be followed.
Just a few miles away in Danville, a woman named Abigail Hailili said she was faced with similar comments on Christmas morning.
A spokesman for the San Ramon Police Department said in a statement to ABC News Monday afternoon that the department had made significant progress in investigating both incidents. It is still unclear whether the two incidents are related. The department has asked the public for help in identifying both perpetrators.
With violence against Asian Americans on the rise across the country, advocates have launched initiatives to make the necessary changes.
“It’s the realization that this is real and affecting the people you know, those you love, those close to you,” Ha told KGO. “That’s why people are finding ways to raise awareness because it’s an issue that matters. It’s a real thing and people need to be aware of that.”
Reported anti-Asian hate crimes in the state increased an alarming 177.5% from 2020 to 2021, according to the California Department of Justice’s Hate Crime in California report, released in June. Many other incidents go unreported.