Police in California tracked down a man and charged him with a hate crime after seeing a viral video online showing him call a truck driver racial slurs, then throw a cup of coffee into his vehicle.
Robert Leon Tackett, 54, faces hate crime and aggravated assault charges for the road rage incident on Tuesday, July 22, in Irvine, California.
A viral video posted on TikTok by the victim’s family shows Tackett speeding next to the truck driver, shouting an anti-Latino slur, and then throwing coffee into the driver’s vehicle before speeding away.
“After the victim passed the initial altercation, Tackett began following the victim, driving aggressively and swerving into their lane multiple times, nearly causing a collision,” Irvine Police wrote in a statement. “Tackett shouted racial slurs at the victim before throwing a cup of hot coffee into the victim’s vehicle. The liquid landed on the victim’s face, hands, and on the interior of his car.”
“Film me all you want to!,” shouted the driver.
Police caught wind of the incident after it was posted to social media, according to KNBC.
@the_angel_family_ RACIST!!!!! Today my husband was just going to work and attacked by this racist. This guy called my husband a “beaner” and then threw his coffee at him. He wanted to be recorded so now is his time to shine so everyone can see the racist he is. Why do they think they have the right to do this!?! Oh that’s right Trump is normalizing this kind of racist behavior. What has this world become? We are PROUD to be MEXICANS and PROUD of where we came from. #immigrant #ice #mexican #racist #fyp #parati #immigration ♬ original sound – Us
“This man was very angry,” the department’s PIO officer told the local outlet while describing what took place. Police reached out to the family and tracked down the suspect using his license plate.
Authorities said the victim formally reported the assault late Wednesday night.
Tackett was taken into custody and charged on Thursday.
Similar road rage hate crimes have taken place before and drawn national attention.
A 62-year-old man was found guilty last September of felony assault with a deadly weapon and a hate crime enhancement after he was caught on viral video speeding on a highway, cutting in front of a car carrying a Black family, and calling the driver the N-word in Oakland, California. Authorities say the man attempted to “intentionally ram the victim’s vehicle,” and then crashed into a wall on the right shoulder of the freeway.
In another incident in Texas, a road rage incident escalated when a man rear-ended a Black woman’s car, followed her to a gas station, then pointed a gun at her and called her racial slurs. Police charged the man with aggravated assault in that case.
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