Man tackled in racist attack at Capitol Hill QFC, charge says

A 53-year-old man was charged with a hate crime this week after a man of Asian descent was tackled and assaulted at a Capitol Hill QFC, prosecutors say.

John E. Bergstrom was charged Tuesday with malicious harassment, Washington's hate crime statute, after the Jan. 11 attack.

The alleged victim entered the QFC at 1401 Broadway about 11:24 a.m., according to police reports. He claimed that when he approached the bakery area, Bergstrom shouted, "Karate boy!" and made "derogatory sounds that would be offensive to Asians," court records said.

Bergstrom then reportedly threw a punch, which the man dodged. When the victim tried to walk away, Bergstrom grabbed him and tackled him to the ground, the incident report indicated.

A witness told police that the attacker appeared to punch the man several times in the back. The man broke free, but Bergstrom allegedly chased after him in the store.

The witness ran after Bergstrom and grabbed him, telling him to stop what he was doing, but Bergstrom reportedly grabbed the witness's bicep hard enough to bruise his arm.

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