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SEATTLE — A 76-year-old man is charged with a hate crime after allegedly smashing windows of the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle’s Chinatown with a sledgehammer last week.
According to reports, Craig Milne allegedly told police when hew was arrested after the Sept. 14 incident that “the Chinese” targeted him for more than a decade.
Damage to the museum exceeded $100,000, charging documents show.
“The blatant racist motivations behind the defendant’s actions, the extreme nature of this property destruction, the disregard for individuals who were inside the building, and the lack of remorse gives the State significant community safety concerns,” prosecutors said in the charging documents.
Milne, who is white, is being held in the King County Correctional Facility. His bond has been set at $30,000.
What is a hate crime?
A hate crime is a criminal offense motivated by bias or hatred toward a person or group on the basis of their ethnicity, sexual orientation, nationality, gender, religion, disability, political affiliation, or age.
Offenses that are commonly charged as hate crimes include assault, harassment, robbery, vandalism, property damage, rape, and murder.