Maine’s Attorney General this week filed a civil rights complaint against a Florida woman accused of subjecting an Asian American woman to racial taunts and then threatening to run her over with her van.
WMTW reports 66-year-old Vicki Lush of Port St. Lucie, Florida admitted to making racially-based threats on June 6.
A woman was enjoying a bowl of chowder when Lush allegedly called her a “foreigner” and then told her to go back to “your country,” according to Spectrum Local News.
The victim who was visiting Maine from Massachusetts responded “you wouldn’t say this to a White person.”
Lush allegedly then called her a “Chinese (expletive)” got into her van and swerved it in the direction of the victim, reported the Bangor Daily News.
The Daily News also says Lush admitted to saying “you have no idea who you are messing with,” “I’ll lay you out right here,” “get out of my way or I’ll run you over,” and “you foreigners need to go home,” the complaint states.
The Portland Press Herald reports local police estimate its only 3 civil rights complaints have been filed in the last 12 years.
The department forwarded the complaint to the Attorney General because “We felt there was some hate involved.”
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc. Please make a tax-deductible donation to support diverse news coverage about AAPIs and to fund the addition of a new reporter. We are supported in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
