82 year old Edmonds, Washington state woman attacks two Hispanic women attending Donald Trump rally as she demanded to know why Gina Powell and Mary Jennings were voting for the Republican candidate. The un-named woman now faces probable cause for hate crime.
A white woman is facing probably cause for hate crime charges after she was filmed allegedly assaulting two Hispanic women for supporting Donald Trump.
The 82-year-old un-named woman, of Seattle‘s Edmons district, was arrested for allegedly approaching MAGA voters Gina Powell, 55, and Mary Jennings, 66, during a rally for Trump, Monday afternoon demanding to know why they were supporting Trump, given the color of their skin.
Noted the Edmonds Police Department in part according to a Facebook release: ‘During the incident, the suspect indicated the race of the victims, and their political beliefs were the catalyst for her approaching and yelling at them about their views before the assault.’
DEVELOPING NOW: 82-year-old Edmonds, Washington woman arrested for hate crime after assaulting Trump supporters on Monday.
The 82-year-old told police, “I approached her, and I said I want to know why you’re voting for Trump. That’s the only thing. And I said because you’re… pic.twitter.com/MeufpetKgv
— Preston Phillips 🇺🇸 (@PrestonTVNews) November 7, 2024
‘….cause you’re brown-skinned.’
Asked why she sought to ‘engage’ the two women, the 82 year old said she was trying to find out why the Hispanic voters, who have traditionally voted for the Democrat party would vote for the Republican party.
‘I approached her, and I said I want to know why you’re voting for Trump. That’s the only thing. And. And I said because you’re brown-skinned,’ the octogenarian told police, according to KOMO News.
The woman has not been charged but a judge found probable cause for a hate crime offense, as well as two counts of fourth-degree assault according to FOX13.
Powell and Jennings say they were waving Trump flags with a group of fellow supporters on a corner in Edmonds when the ‘white woman’ approached them.
‘I was just shocked at just the presence of mind, and she made it very clear it was my skin color,’ Powell said.
‘And that’s when she shoved me, pushed me back, and I said don’t touch me. And then not even a second, she just popped me right in my chin.’
Powell told FOX13 the woman was particularly upset at her shirt, which read: ‘Pro-God, pro-guns, pro-life, pro-Trump.’
The right to free expression
The 82 year old told police her response was to push Powell away and admitted she put her hand on her chin and pushed on her shoulder, while claiming it ‘wasn’t hard.’
Jennings then stepped in to separate the women, claiming the white ‘liberal’ ended up assaulting her as well.
‘I said you have no right to touch anyone, and she goes all I did was all it was barely like this, and she punched me,’ Jennings said.
‘But she connected, and you know, it slammed my jaw shut,’ Jennings added.
Bodycam footage captured the moments after the altercation as police arrived on the scene and the accused woman explained herself.
It shows the 82 year old being handcuffed as she’s led into a police car and taken to Snohomish County Jail. It remained unclear if the un-named 82 year old voter remained in custody.
The episode led to authorities expressing disconcert and their commitment to allowing the free expression of political ideals according to My Edmonds News.
‘The constitution protects peaceful rallies in our community, and community members should never be met with violence while exercising those rights,’ Edmonds Police Chief Michelle Bennett said in a news release. ‘Our officers properly determined that this was more than just an assault and arrested the suspect for the appropriate charge.’
‘I’m disheartened that this violence has occurred in our community,’ added Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen. ‘Elections are an important part of society, and freedom of expression is the foundation on which democracy is built. Community members peacefully showing political support should not be subject to hateful violence. I’m thankful there were no serious injuries, and the suspect was held accountable.’
How Hispanic voters are leaving the Democrats who they traditionally supported for the Republican Party
Powell and Jennings say they are physically okay following the ‘altercation’ while saying the experience has been ’emotional’ for them.
Powell said she has not been able to work yet and is still in shock.
Powell and Jennings are part of a huge surge of Latin-American voters who got behind Trump in the 2024 election race.
Trump enjoyed a 14 percent surge in Hispanic support compared to his 2020 election run, which he lost to Joe Biden, the dailymail reports.
Latino voters have long been seen as more likely to vote Democrat, but have begun moving rightwards in recent elections as the Democrat traditonal voting base has increasingly become disillusioned with the Democrat’s message and policies.
Many of those voters share widespread concerns about immigration and inflation along with getting behind Trump’s message of ‘improving’ the economy.
Others were also upset at Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s insistence on using the progressive term ‘Latinx’ to describe them.
Tuesday’s episode follows other spates of voters attacking or intimidating would be voters amid an ongoing polarized society in the U.S.
The incident happened a day before a tense election that resulted in Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris. There have not been reports of political violence since the Associated Press called the election early Wednesday morning.
