82-year-old Washington woman arrested for suspected hate crime against Trump supporter
An 82-year-old woman was arrested Monday for a suspected hate crime and assault charges after an incident at a political rally, police said.
In Edmonds, Washington, approximately 20 miles north of Seattle, police were called to the scene where a group of people were rallying for "a conservative political figure" the day before the election, according to a Wednesday news release.
The suspect, whom police did not name publicly, engaged with two women at the scene about their political views, police said. A police report obtained by Paste BN shows the suspect was an 82-year-old white woman.
Two women from Edmonds, aged 55 and 66, told police the suspect had gotten in their face, commented on one of the women's attire and skin color, and punched her in the face. The police report shows the women were Black and multiracial. When the other woman tried to intervene, she was punched too, according to the news release.
"When officers contacted the suspect, she stated that she could not understand why people of color would support this particular candidate," police said in the news release. "The suspect was very animated and even attempted to push an officer while demonstrating how she had acted."
The suspect was booked into a local jail after police found probable cause for a hate crime, police said. Jail records show she is no longer in custody and ABC reported the suspect was not charged as of Thursday.
2024 election season marked with violence
The days and weeks leading up to Donald Trump being declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election, threats of election-related violence popped up around the country.
A recent study showed nearly 1 in 3 Republicans who view Trump favorably believe political violence is acceptable, compared to 1 in 4 Republicans overall and 1 in 6 Americans. Experts had warned this could be a dangerous election, Paste BN previously reported. This was the first presidential election after Trump's refusal to accept his loss in the 2020 election sowed distrust in the electoral system and fueled the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump has survived two assassination attempts this year. In July, he was shot in the ear by a gunman positioned on a rooftop near a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. In September, the Secret Service opened fire on a suspect after seeing a gun barrel in the bushes along the perimeter of Trump's golf course, where Trump was golfing at the time.
Threats have also been made against election workers and public officials this season. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced legal action in four cases earlier in October.
- A Philadelphia man was accused of threatening to "skin" a party official;
- An Alabama man was accused of threatening to execute election officials in Arizona;
- An Arizona man was charged with shootings at a Democratic campaign office;
- And a California man was charged with bombing a courthouse.
Ballot boxes in Washington and Oregon were set on fire on Oct. 28.
In two separate incidents in Florida, an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy, both apparent Trump supporters, were arrested following altercations with Harris-supporting women over 65 years old.
On Election Day, bomb threats appearing to come from Russian domains targeted polling places in several states.
Contributing: Erin Mansfield, Bart Jansen, James Powel, John Bacon, Aysha Bagchi
Kinsey Crowley is a trending news reporter at Paste BN. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com, and follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley.