A climate of fear and violence in Washington

-On March 04, Deep Rai, a 39-year-old Sikh man in Kent, Washington, heard a cry of “go back to your own country”—before he was shot in the arm. The assailant is described as a six-foot-tall white man, with a mask covering the lower half of his face. -18-year-old Ben Keita was last seen at his mother’s home in Lake Stevens around 1 a.m. on November 26. his body was found “by a passerby January 9, dangling from a long rope tied to a high branch.”A January autopsy report says: “Although at autopsy I did not see any evidence of trauma beyond the evidence of hanging, the circumstances of the very high tree branch, uncertain location of the decedent for the six weeks prior to discovery (with a report that the area where the body was found had been previously searched), and lack of any reported suicidal ideation or attempts makes a definitive classification of the manner as suicide uncertain.” “Ben was a happy, young man,” said Ben’s father, Ibrahima Keita. “We believe that somewhere, someone must know something about this case and we urge people to come forward and contact the police.” Ben was Black and Muslim. -The story of racist threats against Belinda Seare, former WWU Student President, can be found here: https://storify.com/BhamRJC/timeline - - - - - - - - In all of our small ways, we must fight this hatred and fear.