Man Ripping Down Flyers Promoting AAPI Anti-Hate Rally Caught on Camera in Mountain View
MOUNTAIN VIEW (KPIX) -- A Mountain View resident who captured video of a man ripping down flyers promoting a rally to raise awareness about hate crimes against Asian and Pacific Islanders said Friday that police contacted her about the incident.
Carol Casey said she was having lunch just before she planned to attend the rally when she spotted the man removing the flyers and throwing them into a trash can.
"You really should be ashamed of yourself ripping off those flyers, I saw you," Casey could be heard saying to the man in cellphone video of the incident. "You should be ashamed of yourself, I saw you rip those flyers off of there."
The man, who gets into the passenger side of a waiting car, responds "Who are you to tell me? You should be ashamed of yourself telling other people what to do."
Casey said the man removed the flyers less than two hours before the afternoon rally, which was organized by several Bay Area high school students.
"I heard this rip and instantly looked up and saw his hand kind of clench the flyers," Casey said. "The kiosk was full of multiple flyers that he could've chosen to take down, but those were very much targeted."
Dante Perrucci, who was posting his own flyers for an event to raise money in the fight against AAPI racism, happened to run into Casey moments later.
"When she ran up to me she was shaking," said Perrucci. "You have to look at it and say, 'That's why we're doing the event.' We're literally having this event not to just to raise money, but we're having these events to raise awareness so people can see that this kind of hatred and racism it's real and it's out there."
Sunday's rally drew in an estimated 500 people. Mountain View High School senior Daisey Kemp, who saw Casey's video once it went viral, said she was shocked by the man who removed flyers promoting the event.
"I'm really grateful to the woman who took the video of it," Kemp said. "I just was very saddened by it. It was pretty evident if these posters are triggering, it's likely he's not in support of what we're moving toward and what we're fighting for."
Kemp said she got involved in the rally in light of the recent rise in attacks against the AAPI community. Several days ago, a bullet pierced Asian-owned Serenity Hair Salon in San Jose. The Asian-owned spa next door was also shot at with an unknown caliber firearm.
The driver who is seen with the unknown man who removed the posters told KPIX that she had no idea what he had done. She said that he told her he was going for a walk before he returned to the car, and that she believes he learned his lesson after police came knocking on her door to find him.
"I really hope that he takes some time to look deep inside of himself and think about where he could promote love," Casey said.
