White Woman Arrested After Leaving Racist Handwritten Letters Around San Leandro Neighborhood, Targeted Asians

A white woman has been harassing Asians by passing out racist handwritten notes around the San Leandro neighborhood.

According to NBC News, 52-year-old Nancy Arechiga has been going around the San Leandro neighborhood of Heron Bay, passing out notes to Asian families that contain “insensitive messages towards minorities.” One of the letters reads: “If you are a woman or man and was born in other country, return, go back to your land immediately, fast, with urgency.” The note ended, saying, “One American, white, brave, that serves the Nation or USA is going to live here.”

Arechiga was caught on video and in photos posting the letters on people’s doors. It didn’t take long for police to identify her, arrest her and charge her with an investigation of committing a hate crime, Bossip reports. Arechiga taped the letters to at least five homes, police say. According to the Los Angeles Times, Arechiga was issued a citation and released from custody.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the state of California has set bail at zero for “low-level crimes” and misdemeanors in order to lower the number of people jailed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Arechiga will have to appear in court; however, a date has not been set. Arechiga may have also been connected to a note that was left at a local trail on Thursday, which police say they are looking into.

One Asian American woman said she read one of Arechiga’s notes that were posted on a neighborhood tree trunk, saying,  “reading this letter sends chills down my spine.”