Racist letter targets Asian widow days after husband’s funeral, California police say

On the same day an 82-year-old woman buried her husband, someone mailed a racist anti-Asian letter to her Southern California home, police say.

“Watch out! Pack your bags and go back to your county where you belong!” reads the anonymous letter, released by the Seal Beach Police Department.

The letter, mailed Friday, arrived Monday at the home of Yong Choi but was intercepted by one of her daughters, who notified police, the Orange County Register reported.

“I can’t even imagine being so vile they would take time out of their day to target a new widow,” said daughter Claudia Choi, according to the publication.

The letter released by police, written on lined yellow paper, refers to Yong’s husband, Byong Choi, by name and calls him “one less Asian to put up with.”

It also complains about “fricken Asians taking over our American community!”

Byong and Yong Choi, who are from Korea, retired to the 55-plus Leisure World community about 10 years ago after running a restaurant in Indiana for 20 years, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Claudia Choi told the Orange County Register that she believes the letter came from a fellow Leisure World resident based on the comments, which referenced the community.

The letter comes amid a wave of anti-Asian violence across the United States, including the murders of eight people at three Atlanta spas.

“Hate directed toward any member of our community is disgusting and will not be tolerated,” Seal Beach Police Chief Philip L. Gonshak said in a statement.

Police and U.S. Postal Service inspectors are investigating the letter as a hate crime, using fingerprints and handwriting analysis to determine a suspect, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In a statement posted to its site, Leisure World condemned the incident.

“This malicious and egregious act of hate speech threatens our core values of racial equity and social justice,” the statement reads.

Police asked that anyone with information on the letter contact detective Jon Ainley at 562-799-4100, ext. 1113, or jainley@sealbeachca.gov.

This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 8:19 AM with the headline "Racist letter targets Asian widow days after husband’s funeral, California police say."