New York man faces hate-crime charges after making anti-Asian remark to undercover policeman
- Juvian Rodriguez, 35, was arrested on Friday afternoon after the alleged confrontation near Penn Station in New York City
- The arrest comes amid a national spike in reports of anti-Asian American hate crimes
A New York man is facing hate crime charges after police said he made threats and anti-Asian American remarks – to an undercover officer assigned to a hate crimes task force.
Juvian Rodriguez, 35, was arrested on Friday afternoon after the alleged confrontation near Penn Station.
A message was sent on Saturday to the lawyer who represented Rodriguez at a court appearance on Friday. No home phone number for Rodriguez could be found.
According to news accounts, when reporters outside a police station asked Rodriguez for comment, he replied only, “Your mother!”
Police say Rodriguez intentionally engaged with the undercover officer, told him to “go back to China” before he ended up in a “graveyard,” and threatened to slap and stab him in the face.
He is facing misdemeanour charges that include menacing and harassment as hate crimes, and aggravated harassment related to a person’s race, ancestry or certain other characteristics, court records show.