San Jose Woman Charged With Hate Crime After Racist Rant Against McDonald's Workers
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A 40-year-old San Jose woman has been charged with a hate crime Wednesday after she allegedly unleashed a racist rant, targeting a Mountain View McDonald's employee and his manager when she refused their repeated demands to wear a COVID-19 face mask.
The Santa Clara District Attorney's Office said that Alena Jenkins will face the hate crime and a battery charge, both misdemeanors, when she is arraigned Wednesday at the Hall of Justice.
"Targeting people because of their perceived ethnicity is not just a shame, it's a crime," said District Attorney Jeff Rosen. "There is no excuse for hatred."
On Saturday morning, Jenkins was eating inside the McDonald's without wearing a mask in violation of the restaurant's COVID-19 restrictions.
When a McDonald's employee repeatedly asked the defendant to leave, she refused and called the employee: "(Expletives deleted) Mexican! Go ahead and call the cops!"
When the employee called the police, the defendant shoved a COVID plexiglass shield and a sign at the employee.
At this same time, the store manager became alerted to the situation and asked the defendant to leave.
Jenkins responded by walking around the front counter, calling the manager a "stupid Mexican," and used her fist to strike him on the arm and shoulder.
Once police arrived on scene, Jenkins continued to make racially charged comments to officers about McDonald's store employees calling them: "dumb Mexicans ... who don't know how to speak English."