SEATTLE — The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed a hate crime charge against a man accused of vandalizing Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum last week.
Around 5 p.m. last Thursday, a woman called 911 to report a man smashing out windows of the museum with a sledgehammer while making racially biased remarks. While the man -- later identified as 76-year-old Craig Milne -- was smashing windows, he reportedly said that “the Chinese have ruined my life.”
When officers arrived, he allegedly told them that “the Chinese have tortured and tormented me for 14 years.”
“I don’t regret anything I did here,” he added.
On Monday, the KCPAO filed two felony charges against Milne, one for a hate crime and one for first degree malicious mischief.
Prosecutors had asked that Milne be held on $75,000 bail, stating that “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.” The court eventually decided to set bail at $30,000.
It’s estimated that over $100,000 worth of damage was done to the museum.
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