Stranger asks man’s immigration status, hits him with laptop in hate crime, CA cops say

A California woman faces a hate crime charge after a confrontation with a stranger Friday evening in Palo Alto, police say.

Sarah Ann Neal, 42, of Santa Clara, asked a man in his 50s for money, then demanded his identification and immigration status, police say in a release.

When the man, who is of Middle Eastern descent, refused, Neal smacked him with a laptop computer she pulled from her bag, police say.

Neal then picked up a large wooden sign on the sidewalk and tried to hit the man with it but missed, police say.

She accused the man of “probably hating women” and told him he was “the reason the country was going down,” police say.

Onlookers called police at 7:55 p.m. Officers found Neal a short distance away and arrested her on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and a hate crime, police say.

The man told police he suspects Neal overheard him talking on his phone in a heavy accent and took offense, officers reported.

Police asked that anyone with information on the incident call 650-329-2413 or email paloalto@tipnow.org.

This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 1:11 PM with the headline "Stranger asks man’s immigration status, hits him with laptop in hate crime, CA cops say."