A Diamond Bar man pleaded responsible on Thursday, Oct. 26, to a federal felony civil rights cost for disrupting a “Cease Asian Hate” rally in March 2021 when he ran a pink mild and drove via a crowded crosswalk of peaceable demonstrators as he shouted racial slurs.
Steve Lee Dominguez, 57, pleaded responsible on the third day of trial to 1 felony depend of bias-motivated interference with federally protected actions, in line with the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace.
In March 2021, a “Cease Asian Hate” rally was held in Diamond Bar to boost consciousness concerning the enhance in hate crimes and incidents towards members of the Asian American Pacific Islander group following the murders of six Asian American girls 5 days earlier in Atlanta.
Demonstrators assembled for the rally on the intersection of Diamond Bar Boulevard and Grand Avenue carrying American flags and huge indicators in help of their trigger, and lawfully crossed the streets utilizing the pedestrian crosswalk once they had the correct of approach, prosecutors stated.
Dominguez was driving a black Honda Civic sedan. Whereas stopped at a pink mild on the intersection, he yelled, “Return to China!” and different racial insults and slurs on the demonstrators, in line with prosecutors. He then intentionally drove his automotive via the crosswalk on the pink mild, made an unlawful U-turn into oncoming site visitors, and lower off the route of demonstrators, largely girls and a younger little one, who have been lawfully crossing the road.
With that, he pulled his automotive over, obtained out and continued to yell racial slurs and threats on the demonstrators.
Amongst these lower off within the crosswalk was a 9-year-old little one, as Dominguez’s automotive narrowly missed her and different victims, the U.S. Legal professional’s workplace stated in a information launch. No accidents have been reported,
Dominguez referred to as the police and recognized himself as “John Doe” and falsely reported to police that the rally members have been blocking the road and he needed to run a pink mild “as a result of they have been about to trample my automotive,” prosecutors stated.
He additionally requested that police “get some management out” on the intersection.
“The best to political expression is a bedrock precept of this nation,” U.S. Legal professional Martin Estrada stated in a information launch. “Mr. Dominguez’s determination to assault a peaceable rally meant to boost consciousness of anti-Asian hate was each illegal and un-American.”
Dominguez faces as much as one yr behind bars below the phrases of the plea settlement. He has remained free on a $30,000 bond since his arrest in Could 2022. His sentencing is scheduled for Could 6, 2024.
Anybody with details about this or different hate crimes can name the FBI’s Los Angeles area workplace at (310) 477-6565 or report suggestions on-line at suggestions.fbi.gov.
