Brooklyn man charged with assault, menacing in anti-Asian hate crimes

May 27 (UPI) -- A New York man was charged with hate crimes in a series of assaults on Asian people, officials said Thursday.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Joseph Russo, 29, was arraigned on a 19-count indictment including charges of second-degree assault, third-degree assault as a hate crime, third-degree menacing as a hate crime, aggravated harassment and related charges.

"Without warning or provocation, this defendant allegedly attacked three innocent strangers because of their race. We have no patience for hate or intolerance in Brooklyn and everyone, regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, or religion, should feel safe to walk the streets without fear of being senselessly and violently attacked," said Gonzalez. "We will continue to work with our partners in the community to address this disturbing rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and bring the perpetrators of bias-motivated crimes to justice."

Russo is accused of pushing a 64-year-old Asian woman to the ground on March 5, pulling a 32-year-old Asian woman's hair as she was walking to a train station and dragging her to the ground on March 22 and on April 5 he allegedly pushed a 77-year-old Asian man standing outside of a supermarket to the ground.

All three victims sustained injuries in the attacks and each event was captured on surveillance video.