Man charged with hate crime after vandalism at Wing Luke Museum

A man was charged Monday with a hate crime after he smashed the windows of the Wing Luke Museum, King County prosecutors say.

According to the charges, Craig Milne, 76, used a sledgehammer to break the windows of the museum along Canton Alley South in Seattle on Thursday night, as dozens of patrons inside were touring an exhibit.

Milne, who is white, also was charged with first-degree malicious mischief for causing more than $100,000 worth of property damage, charging papers say.

After smashing the windows, Milne remained outside the building, and was heard saying he had come to the Chinatown International District to cause damage and that “the Chinese ruined my life,” according to witnesses.

Almost an hour later, when Seattle Police Department officers arrived and arrested Milne, he “continued making racially biased statements and expressed no remorse,” the charging documents stated, with Milne telling officers, “The Chinese have tortured and tormented me for 14 years. I don’t regret anything I did here.”

Read more: Seattle Times