Sikh man beaten, told to “go back to your country” in Keyes; hate crime investigated
A Sikh man was beaten and a racist message spray-painted onto his truck this week in Keyes in what the Stanislaus Sheriff’s Department is calling a “heinous” hate crime.
Authorities said the incident happened just before midnight last Tuesday near the intersection of Keyes and Foote roads as the man was putting up campaign signs alone along a rural stretch on the outskirts of Keyes.
A popular post on Facebook shared the image of the pickup, which was spray painted in large black letters with the words “Go back to ur country” alongside a Celtic cross. The image is a well-known white supremacist symbol, according to the Anti-Defamation League which tracks anti-Semitic and other hate crimes across the country.
Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said the assault is being investigated as a hate crime.
“This is a random despicable criminal act against a member of the Sikh community,” Christianson said.
Sheriff Sgt. Tom Letras said the 50-year-old victim was placing signs for local candidates when two white men wearing black hooded sweatshirts ambushed him and beat him to the ground. He was struck multiple times as the assailants screamed, “You’re not welcome here!” and “Go back to your country!” They then spray painted his truck.
The victim required medical attention so an ambulance was called and he treated on scene for cuts and other wounds. According to the Facebook post, the man was beaten on the head with a rod. But he escaped major injury because of his turban, which is traditionally worn by Sikh men.
Letras said there was no relationship between the victims and suspects. The department is looking for help identifying the suspects or witnesses to the crime. The incident is considered an assault with a deadly weapon and hate crime. The victim’s identity is not being released at this time.
“This is a heinous crime and we are aggressively investigating it,” Letras said.
Hate crimes against the Sikh community have raised alarm in the Central Valley numerous times over the years. After 9/11, a spate of local crimes against Sikh people were attributed to misplaced anti-Muslim bigotry. Last year in Fresno a man was convicted of a hate crime for first beating and then running over an elderly Sikh man.
One of the highest-profile anti-Sikh hate crimes occurred in Wisconsin in 2012when a Neo-Nazi walked into a Sikh temple with a gun and murdered six worshipers and wounded several others as they attended Sunday services.
The valley has one of the largest and oldest Sikh populations in the United States. The first Sikh temple, or gurdwara, in America opened in Stockton in 1912. There are an estimated 500,000 Sikhs in the United States and 25 million worldwide making it the fifth most popular religion. It originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.
Earlier this spring The Sikh Coalition, a national Sikh advocacy and civil rights group, issued a statement saying they were seeing a “new wave of hate crimes” against the Sikh community. It reported that Sikhs in the U.S. are experiencing an average of one hate crime per week since the start of 2018.
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My thoughts…i remember going to the local area high school…the rumors always were the city of Keyes was home to the area’s local Klan members, even stories of turning crosses on lawns and all so the story isn’t shocking.
Maybe the 2 guys who beat up a 50 year old man should consider we’ve been bombing in an around the areas many of these Sikh followers used to call home.
Somehow the hate of nationalists for immigrants is astounding….
I’m sure it can’t have anything to do with our CEO and the shit he says or tweets…thus the title:
Where’s Mary Poppins when you need her,
Super,
Callous,
Fragile
Racist
Sexist
Nazi
POTUS
Thanks for the HATE
this weekend dozens were shot in Chicago and it was Trump’s fault. a white woman was gang raped by negroes somewhere because Trump is mouthy. and i’m sure a homosexual was denied an apartment because Trump. nobody, hardly anywhere, can contain themselves because of the words from the mouth of Trump. these people are not individually responsible for their actions because Donald Trump made them do it. i, myself, am thinking of doing vile things to others because of Trump.
sarc, of course… but i’m only being sarcastic because Trump inspired me.
You’re right.
It wasn’t Trump.
It was Putin.
Or Bush’s fault.
Or maybe someone got confused and thought he was the new NYT tech editor.
But it has to be racist, because it was done by white people, just like all the synagogue bomb threats, Jewish headstones knocked over, Swarstikas (backwards Swastikas) sprayed on doors next to “Niger back to Africa” and all the other totally legit hate crimes that can never be directed towards white non-people like Kate Steinle or Justine Damond…
A shame, Sikh’s tend to be really good people.
I’ve known two of them in my lifetime, both American citizens, and they were good Americans I would far prefer to associate with than any of those who seem to hate them for no real reason they can explain (whom I wouldn’t voluntarily associate with under any circumstances).
I think many times they get mistaken for Muslime, who should be attacked and usually do attack Sikh people.
I agree KaD.
It’s not right but Sikhs are targeted because they insist on looking ‘foreign’ with their turbans and beards. Sikhs even tried to get an exemption for their male children to carry a ‘traditional’ Sikh dagger into public schools. We may grant the freedom to look like a medieval religious fanatic but just as orthodox Jews draw attention to themselves with their ridiculous hats and hairstyles so too do Sikhs and local bullies ( of all races) don’t give a shit about your rights if your attire offends them.
I am reminded of the scene in the movie Airplane where Robert Stack walks through the airport casting ‘Hari Krishnas’ out of his path. People thought it funny because
the Krishnas, though white people, looked ridiculous in their garb.
I used to work for a Sikh. He said he had a tiny sword inside his turban because they’re supposed to carry one at all times, and that was the solution to keep from wearing it in plain view.
I have no use for the scum that attacked the Sikh. He should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I have had dealings with Sikhs and have found them to be honorable and decent.
However, there’s an old saying: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”.
It would behoove them (and every other foreign culture, even jews) to shed the customs of their “old country” and become AMERICANS.
In generations past, immigrants could not wait to shed their old customs, even going so far as to change their surnames and finally become Americans.
It seems that in today’s day and age, immigrants come to America with their “old country baggage” and insist in imposing their “old country ways” on us Americans. Not good for them or for us.
It’s not really their “old country’s ways,” as much as their religion. As I have posted before, if it’s part of their religion, they will continue doing it. Religious dictates come before government laws and American social norms in their view.
More scary white people symbology, or pretty depending on your point of view.
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What’s this?
Worthless article. Blame Trump? Sad, so sad.
the author is a dipshit who thinks far too highly of his/herself given the screen name and the commentary laidout… there is no doubt of the liberal mind on this pos.
odds are strong that given the population of sikhs in the region and the time that they have been there, this whole event was done by a couple a leftist antifa thugs as a false flag much the same way folks find racist comments written on homes, restaurant receipts and many many other racist commentary are either done by the minority themself or by liberals “proving a point”
digitalpennmedia…
Yeah, everything that happens in the news has to be funded by Soros or a government false flag…
Wow! Delusions abound.
Couldn’t have been 2 high school country boys from the sticks who listened to too much Rush Limbaugh with their pops and are falling for the hateful rhetoric being spread everywhere even on TBP…
Robert Gore’s last piece a prime example.
Maybe Rush’s good buddy Dinesh “DR3” Desouza put them up to it.
That could be true, digital.
Hahahahaha.
Thank you. I needed a good laugh.
TRUMP plays the victim card so well fighting the deep state and all so I’m sure these guys were just exercising what power they thought they had to do their part against all the nasty immigrants.
After all, these guys probably got taught in public indoctrination centers and were conditioned to use their power as victims too…
Thinking like “Damn immigrants stealing all us Americans jobs”
That hateful thinking is what TBTP hope is accomplished and magnified exponentially in this the “Summer of twenty hate-teen”
Sorry, but I’m calling bullshit on this whole article. Smells like pre-election propaganda psy-op.
propaganda it is wo doubt,, imo the chance for this being a kind of false flag is above 50/50..
most of the so called “hate crimes” have been faked, remember the swztika painting joos..
probably some paid soros antifa shills behind this tbh.
Per, from what I know about Sikhs it is not likely for a Sikh to perpetrate this type of false flag, unlike the Jews and the Muslims. But, I wouldn’t put it past either the Jews or the Muslims to perpetrate this type of attrocity on a Sikh and do it in such a way as to place the blame on the whites.
No, Annie, not what was meant. The victim wasn’t part of the false flag. Antifa dressed as gool old boy racists most likely did the dirty deed.
Yes, that’s how I took your comment, Anonymous. I think Annie just misunderstood.
My 2 cents got added to the local paper, that’s all…
There’s so much punch drunk love of Trump around here I have to stir the shit per say.
Other commenters on here, including myself, have pointed out that Trump inherited the CEO position after Brand NoBama right after dipshit Bush, no body could say shit after Osama won foe 8 years without being called a racist even if you were pointing out his signing off on droning people instead of sending them to Gitmo…or his continued expansion of wars and funding of ISIS along with aspects of the CIA.
Now with how carefree Trump is with his Twitter feed, others are more embolden to do the same,
Just a sign of the times that’s all.
it must be nice going trough life and blame evryone else for your choices, i personally blame Trump for my behaviour in my youth that landed me 3 years in prison.. I had nothing to do with it….
ffs, how retarded can a human get?
Per/Norway et al,
I, in no way, am eliminating or dismissing the individual acts or responsibility of these 2 cowards.
We are social animals and social factors do influence our behaviors…
If you don’t believe that then you aren’t being honest with yourself or don’t realize how we learn and how we filter what we seem important…often times peer pressure, social pressures dictate how we feel we must act.
Doesn’t make it right, just stating the facts. Especially if they were youngsters like I implied by recounting high school stories.
To totally dismiss Trump’s CURRENT influence, considering he is supposedly the commander and chief for the military of the free world would be a mistake in logic.
Should he get blamed for all the word, most certainly not, but by continuing to put his foot in his mouth like referring to Mexicans as “rapists and criminals” ISN’T HELPING,
Unless of course it’s part of the destabilization plan for this country.
HATE HATE HATE
WHO DO WE APPRECIATE
TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP
IF HE CAN’T DO IT
NO ONE CAN!
HATE HATE HATE
A few years ago a “religion” test was posted here ….. you answered a bunch of questions about what you believed …. and then the program would spit out which religions best fitted your beliefs.
Well, it seems over 90% of my beliefs aligned with Sikhs!! Really. So, I like ’em cuz to hate ’em would be to hate myself.
That being said, like most of you, I absolutely knew the author would get around to blaming Trump. These #Libtard:Fuknuts#ShitForBrains are so damned predictable. I just roll my eyes. They hardly even piss me off anymore. They bore me.
That sounds like a fun test, Stucky. Maybe it should be reposted.
Around that time of high school as i mentioned in my thoughts below the Modesto Bee local paper ,
proposition 187 was on the ballot in 1994…
I still remember walkouts and marches through the local high school campus along with swastikas being tagged on buildings…that really stirred up the youngsters and made us feel like we had to pick a side, sorta like prison…
This has been a long time in the making folks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_187
Those two bastards that attacked the guy are lucky. Sikhs are always armed with a dagger, and they are not pacifists.
I have known many Sikhs. They have all been fine, hard-working, honest people. Mormons on the other hand …
Funny you should mention that…a follow up to the original story from today’s paper…story below…
https://www.modbee.com/news/local/crime/article216181845.html
“Go back to your country!” two men yelled at Turlock resident Surjit Singh Malhi last week as they beat the 50-year-old Sikh and vandalized his pickup truck on a roadside near Keyes last week.
But America is his country, the president of the R. Millennium Transport trucking company said Monday, sitting in his Geer Road office. Though born in Punjab, India, Malhi has lived in the United States more than 25 years, raised four children here with his wife and says he has no other allegiance.
So much does he love America and his community that, even though he’s not yet a citizen and thus unable to vote, he was out putting up signs for a few local political campaigns when attacked.
Shortly before midnight July 31, Malhi was alone near the intersection of East Keyes and Foote roads. He was reattaching a bungee cord that secured the campaign signs in the bed of his pickup. The big signs blocked his view of two men coming around the back of the truck.
The first thing they did was throw sandy dirt in his eyes, obscuring his vision. He was hit on the head and body by a wooden stick and something he couldn’t identify, Malhi said. They cursed at him and told him he didn’t belong here. And they spray-painted a white nationalist symbol and the words “Go back to ur country” on his white pickup.
It was all over in less than a minute, Malhi estimated. He didn’t get a good look at the men, who wore hoodies, nor at their vehicle, he said.
The turban he wore probably saved him from greater injury, or even death, Malhi said. He was wearing the same style, a warrior turban, on Monday, and explained that it has more padding than other turbans. Often, a warrior turban even includes a protective iron ring beneath some of the fabric, though he didn’t include one that night.
Malhi also noted that he wasn’t carrying the sword of his faith, a kirpan, when he was attacked. Probably just as well, though, he said. With dirt in his eyes, he wasn’t able to defend himself well, and one of the men might have taken and used the blade.
Until a week ago, Malhi said, he never thought anything like the attack would happen to him. His years in this country have been overwhelmingly positive, he said, as he flipped through a 2017 yearbook of his and his fellow Sikhs activities and accomplishments.
Pages of photos of volunteer efforts at events like the Hughson Christmas parade and the Turlock community Christmas tree lighting. Sikh Awareness Day. Santa Rosa and Detwiler fire relief work. Meal service at the Turlock Gospel Mission. Pictures with Stanislaus County DA Birgit Fladager, Sheriff Adam Christianson, Supervisors Terry Withrow and Vito Chiesa, U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham.
Now, he’ll be more alert and careful — no more putting up signs alone in the dark. But he’s not going to be fearful, Malhi said. “My heart is with America, with the American people. I feel very safe.” For every person like his attackers, so many more people have shown their support, he said.
A group of 50 or so from CrossFit ParaBellum turned up at his Turlock home Sunday to clean his truck (there’s no sign of the spray paint) and his front and back yards. “This gets my heart,” Malhi said of the surprise visit.
Asked what he had to say to his attackers, Malhi added, “I want to let them know if you are American, be a true American. If you love your country and love America, you should not do that. If you have any problem, you can come front and talk. Do not attack people.”
In an email to The Bee on Monday, Fladager said, “It’s unbelievable that people are capable of such terrible conduct, especially when motivated by racism or religious intolerance. I have confidence that the Sheriff’s Department will conduct a thorough investigation and find those responsible.”
Monday afternoon, Denham issued a statement on the attack. It reads, in part, “Surjit is a respected leader in our community and a proud American. He will continue to chair our Sikhs for Denham coalition. Inciting violence because of race, religion or political beliefs should never be tolerated. This is the third incident in less than two weeks where a member of my team has been a target and it must come to an end. We will continue to foster a campaign of inclusiveness and advocate for a free and civil exchange of ideas.”
In Pakistan and India, the Muslims and Sikhs can’t get along at all. In fact, when Pakistan was created, there was a lot of bloodshed as Muslims moved to Pakistan and the Sikhs moved to India, crossing each others’ paths on the roads. It’s a long-standing feud between religions. And it just shows that nobody can live with Muslims.