Man Violently Assaulted Woman Without Provocation, While Shouting Racial Slurs

Jesse Allen Lindsey, 38, who was homeless at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty in December 2024 to one count of a federal hate crime. He has remained in federal custody since July 2024. U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald handed down the sentence, calling the incident a “shocking and horrible crime.” Lindsey was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for a racially motivated attack on an Asian American woman in Culver City, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.

The attack occurred in the early morning hours of June 14, 2021, as the victim was walking to work. According to prosecutors, Lindsey followed the woman, shouted racial slurs at her, and told her, “You don’t belong here.” Moments later, he violently punched her in the head, knocking her to the ground.

As the victim lay face down in the street, Lindsey continued his verbal assault, yelling, “You hear what I said, [N-word]? I said good morning, bitch!”

Emergency responders arrived at the scene and transported the victim to a hospital for head and ear injuries. She was unable to work for a month and continues to suffer from long-term psychological trauma, according to prosecutors.

Following the attack, Lindsey fled California after seeing media reports about the incident. Authorities later located him in a California state prison, where he was serving time for an unrelated conviction.

Judge Fitzgerald noted Lindsey’s extensive criminal history, which includes 13 prior convictions for offenses such as firearms and narcotics violations, domestic battery, grand theft, and attempted extortion. He has also had 14 probation or pretrial release violations and 19 additional arrests or law enforcement contacts.

During an interview with investigators, Lindsey admitted to punching the victim but falsely claimed self-defense. He described the five-foot-tall, 120-pound woman as a “mouthy little Asian person” and suggested she might have martial arts skills, saying she could pull “some Jet Li [expletive].” Lindsey, by contrast, is over six feet tall and weighs approximately 250 pounds.

The FBI led the investigation, with significant assistance from the Culver City Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Greer Dotson.