A man has been arrested for a hate crime after he allegedly punched two people in the face while yelling derogatory things about Mexicans at the downtown Palo Alto train station, police said.
Charles Murphy, 63, of East Palo Alto, allegedly asked a man in his 70s for a cigarette on Sunday around 2 p.m.
When the man refused, Murphy punched the cigarette out of his hand, police said.
Murphy then started yelling at two Latino men sitting on a bench, police said.
One of the men got up and asked Murphy to move away, and Murphy punched the man in the face, police said.
The man pulled out a pocket knife, and Murphy allegedly punched him a second time. The man punched Murphy back, and Murphy punched the man a third time before they both fell to the ground and Murphy got away, police said.
Murphy was cited and released for two counts of battery and a hate crime, police said. Prosecutors haven’t charged him yet, court records show.
MAGA is alive and well on the Penninsula.
Has nothing to do with MAGA and everything to do with being vulnerable and homeless. As the PA train station is a congregate place for the unhoused it is likely all participants were of this demographic.