Man sentenced for driving through ‘Stop Asian Hate’ rally in Los Angeles County
A man from Diamond Bar has been sentenced to one year in federal prison for driving through a rally to protest violence and prejudice against Asians, Asian Americans and others of Asian descent.
Steve Lee Dominguez, 58, was sentenced for his actions on March 21, 2021, when he ran a red light, drove through a crosswalk filled with peaceful demonstrators and shouted racial slurs at them.
He pleaded guilty to one count of “bias-motivated interference with federally protected activities” back in October 2023, according to the United States Department of Justice.
The rally was held in Diamond Bar to protest and raise awareness about an increase in hate crimes and violence targeting members of the Asian American Pacific Islander community, driven in part by the coronavirus pandemic.
The population of Diamond Bar, about 25 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, is more than 58% of Asian origin, according to U.S. Census data.
That particular rally was held five days after eight people, including six Asian women, were shot and killed at two Atlanta spas.
The group had assembled at the intersection of Diamond Bar Boulevard and Grand Avenue, carrying American flags and protest signs. The group was peacefully gathered and lawfully crossed the streets using marked crosswalks and had the right of way, the DOJ said.
Dominguez came across the rally while he was stopped at an intersection at a red light.
“Dominguez yelled, ‘Go back to China!’ and other racial slurs and profanities at the demonstrators,” the DOJ said in a Monday news release. “He then deliberately drove his car through the intersection crosswalk at the red light, made an illegal U-turn into oncoming traffic, and cut off the route of several rally participants lawfully crossing the street.”
An Asian woman carrying a “Stop Asian Hate” sign, a Black woman carrying a sign that read “End the Violence Against Asians,” and a 9-year-old girl were among the victims, the DOJ said. Dominguez “narrowly missed” those in the intersection and no injuries were reported.
After cutting off the rally with his vehicle, Dominguez wasn’t done. He then got out of his Honda — a Japanese automaker — and began yelling more racial epithets at the crowd, including the “n word.”
He then called police, identifying himself as “John Doe,” and told dispatch that the protesters were blocking the streets and “were about to trample my car.” He told police he had to run the red light for his safety and urged them to “get some control” to the area where the rally was taking place.
Dominguez later fled the scene, but his license plate was captured in a video posted to social media.
United States Attorney Martin Estrada said Dominguez’s actions were intentional and meant to “curtail the rights of peaceful demonstrators.”
“While differences of opinion are part of a healthy democracy, we cannot allow people to commit acts of violence against those with whom they disagree,” Estrada said.
Mehtab Syed of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office said the March 2021 rally was meant to stand up for a “righteous cause,” the protection of Asian members of the community from hate-motivated attacks. Instead, it was overshadowed by Dominguez attacking innocent civilians.
“Today’s sentence represents the FBI’s commitment to ensuring that Constitutionally-protected rights are not violated and those who deny them will be held accountable,” Syed said.
The FBI, which investigated the case, urges anyone with information related to hate crimes to call the FBI L.A. Field Office at 310-477-6565 or submit a tip online.
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