[FoxNews] Jose Gomez III pleaded guilty to finding knives in a Texas Sam's club and slashing an Asian family inside the store in March 2020.| Was he upset about Covid? And now the answer: |
Jose Gomez III, 21, of Midland, Texas, pleaded guilty to attacking an Asian family with young children on March 14, 2020, because he believed the Chinese were responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Pandemic-driven and racially-motivated acts of violence are deplorable crimes, and the Justice Department stands ready to use our hate crimes laws to hold perpetrators accountable," Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a Thursday statement. "Hate crimes targeting Asian Americans have spiked during the pandemic and must be confronted. All people deserve to feel safe and secure living in their communities, regardless of race, color or national origin."
Gomez did not know the family but assumed they were Chinese and proceeded to follow them around because he believed they were a "threat" from the country that "started spreading that disease around," according to the Justice Department, citing statements made during his guilty plea.