Olympian\u00a0Sakura Kokumai said she was\u00a0verbally harassed and called racial slurs in early April. Now, weeks later, authorities say they\u00a0arrested her harasser after he attacked\u00a0a senior couple on Sunday.<\/p>\n
According to authorities, Michael Vivona, 25, punched a 79-year-old\u00a0man and his 80-year-old wife, knocking them to the ground\u00a0while they were walking in a park\u00a0in Orange, California, about 40 miles from Los Angeles. Both are Korean American, said Orange City Police Sergeant\u00a0Phillip McMullin.<\/p>\n
Though he didn’t make any statements during the attack, Vivona “made statements that proved that the assault was racially motivated” in interviews with the police, McMullin told USA TODAY.<\/p>\n
“He had a hate towards Asians and made that clear,” he added.<\/p>\n
Both seniors suffered minor injuries and were released at the scene.<\/p>\n
Kokumai, who is Japanese American,\u00a0was training in the same park April 1 when Vivona began to yell at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a loser. Go home, you stupid b—-,\u201d he said, according to videos Kokumai posted on Instagram<\/strong>. \u201cI\u2019ll f—\u00a0you up.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg> View this post on Instagram<\/p>\n A post shared by Sakura Kokumai (@sakurakokumaikarate)<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened to me was nothing compared to what we see on social media right now — people getting hit, people get slashed, people getting killed,\u201d Kokumai told USA TODAY in early April.<\/p>\n ‘We need to protect each other.’<\/strong>Olympic hopefuls say they’ve experienced anti-Asian hate<\/span><\/p>\n Vivera is believed to be homeless and\u00a0living out of his car, McMullin said. He was booked on two counts of elder abuse and one count of criminal threats in reference to the incident in early April.\u00a0<\/p>\n When the assault occurred Sunday, “community members surrounded\u00a0the suspect,” keeping him in the park until police arrived, McMullin said.<\/p>\n Orange County saw a tenfold increase in hate incident reports in 2020, according to Orange County Human Relations,\u00a0a nonprofit that works closely with the county to track and respond to hate crimes and racism, the Los Angeles\u00a0Times reported.<\/p>\n