November 29, 2022
SEATTLE, WA—A man who allegedly yelled “China virus” and you “f**king Chinese” and headbutted a person earlier this month has been charged with a hate crime. He made his first court appearance on Monday, November 28.
Anthony J. Ransford, a 38-year-old Caucasian man, faces one count of assault and one hate crime charge after he attacked three Asian-American students near City University in Seattle on November 8 just before 4 p.m.
One of the victims reported seeing Ransford yelling at three Chinese students on the street, with the suspect eventually headbutting one of the students.
According to journalist Jonathan Choe, Ransford cursed at the students, and made COVID-19 references, before headbutting one of the men.
Another victim engaged with the assailant and struggled with him over a stick before Ransford shoved the victim to the ground and fled the scene.
The victims and multiple witnesses provided a description of Ransford and he was later found in a nearby homeless encampment where he lived with his boyfriend.
The victim Ransford headbutted suffered a broken nose from the attack and the other victim was treated for a dislocated shoulder and fractured humerus, which required surgery to repair.
Ransford was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in California back in 2017 and has multiple convictions in Iowa, including multiple assaults, according to King5.
Ransford pled not guilty and the State requested bail be set at $10,000.
“This was a real live version of some of the terrible hateful things you see on the internet,” said Casey McNerthney, a King County prosecutor.
In a separate incident nearby in Bellevue, authorities arrested William David Simonson, for allegedly pushing a 16-year-old Chinese girl onto a busy intersection where an oncoming car nearly hit her.
NOVEMBER NOT TO REMEMBER: Multiple incidents of ASIAN HATE in #Seattle and #Bellevue. Authorities say there could be even more, but not yet reported. @BvuePD and @SeattlePD being praised for arresting two suspects. #StopAsianHate@NextShark @activeasian @AsAmNews @AsianDawn4 pic.twitter.com/7G2QaVq9ln
— Jonathan Choe Journalist (@choeshow) November 27, 2022
Court documents indicate Simonson told her “you’re a f**king Asian b*tch” and “go back to your country Asian.”
Simonson will also be charged with assault and hate crime enhancements.
Feature Screenshots via King5 & Jonathan Choi