Woman Arrested After Racist Notes Taped to Homes

Police say Nancy Arechiga, 52, had more of the notes in her backpack
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 27, 2020 9:35 AM CDT
Woman Arrested After Racist Notes Taped to Homes
A stock photo of a non-tampered-with front door.   (Getty Images)

A woman in the San Francisco Bay Area has been arrested on suspicion of posting handwritten messages at several homes, targeting Asian Americans and suggesting that those not native to the United States should leave the country immediately. Police in San Leandro, a suburb of 89,000 just south of Oakland, said officers were called to the Heron Bay neighborhood Friday evening after receiving reports of notes containing "insensitive messages towards minorities" taped to five homes, reports the AP. "If you are a woman or man and was born in other country, return, go back to your land immediately, fast, with urgency," the note said. It ended with "One American, white, brave, that serves the Nation or USA is going to live here."

One resident gave the officers images captured on his doorbell security camera of a woman taping the note, and the officers soon found her in the area, police said in a statement. Nancy Arechiga, 52, was carrying a backpack containing copies of the same notes, the statement said. She was arrested "for these inappropriate messages that instilled fear and intimidation upon those residents." Arechiga was taken to Alameda County Jail and booked for investigation of committing a hate crime. She was issued a citation and released from custody. California has set bail at $0 for low-level crimes and misdemeanors in an effort to keep jails empty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Arechiga was told to appear in court, though the date wasn't set because of the holiday weekend.

(More racism stories.)

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