Business owner in Virginia under fire for racism after hitting an Asian woman’s car
[Source]
A fireplace store owner in Great Falls, Virginia, is under fire for his racist behavior toward an Asian woman after bumping into her car.
What happened: The woman, who filmed the altercation, accused Aspen Green Gasworks owner Charles “Chuck” LaGoe of hitting her car while she was at a red light.
“Yesterday, while I was waiting at a red light, I had an unfortunate experience where my car was abruptly struck from behind, causing my head to hit the steering wheel,” the woman wrote in a statement uploaded by her friend to TikTok.
The woman said she stepped out of her vehicle to assess the situation. However, LaGoe allegedly accused her of causing traffic and instructed her to move to the side of the road. When the woman called the police and asked LaGoe for his information and insurance, he started yelling at her and said he had to leave to pick up his daughter.
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“I realized I couldn’t reason with this individual so I promptly dialed 911 for assistance,” the victim said, adding that LaGoe’s behavior might have been due to alcohol consumption.
LaGoe can be heard in the video making derogatory and racist remarks, including calling her a “f*cking dumb gook” and telling her to speak English even though she already was.
@peonynguyen42 #greatfalls — I don’t want to post it here but his attitude was unacceptable. This is the reason I share this to everyone so if his friends and family see this. Today I got into a car accident. This guy hit my car really hard from behind while I stopped at the red light. His car hit me so hard that I hit my head to the wheel and the car was moved toward. When I step out to talk to him about what happened, he then starts acting and saying racist thing to me while I try to get his information. He then tried to make an excuse to pick up his daughter while I am calling to police and want to run.! What will you do with this situation ???😭😟👹 virginiacourt #virginia #dmv #washingtondc #usatiktok #racist #racism #maryland ♬ original sound - Peomy
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“White man who is above the law”: Although it is currently unclear how the situation was handled by the police, social media users were immediately able to identify the man and his business.
@etchaskej @Ed Even with all that… it only took 4hrs to identify Chuck LaGoe just with his own publicly available profiles online. We can add 🏎️ist to Chuck’s permanent record. Also no I didnt say the slerrr at the end… it was purposefully cut off. #stopasianhate #chucklagoe #charleslagoe #aspengreengasworks #greatfallsva #virginia #dmv #maryland #asiantiktok #bipoctiktok #soundsaboutwhite #consequencesofmyactions ♬ original sound - Ed
X users criticized LaGoe and expressed anger over his racist behavior towards the Asian woman.
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“This is not acceptable behavior from an old man. He clearly only respects white women,” one user said.
“White man who is above the law,” another user wrote.
The interaction was also uploaded to YouTube, where viewers condemned the “male Karen’s” disrespectful and privileged behavior.
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Negative reviews: Some internet users also targeted LaGoe’s fireplace store, with many people leaving negative reviews on Aspen Green Gasworks’ Yelp and Google review pages.
“This company is trash. ANYONE who continues to support people like the racist owner are just as horrible as he is,” one review read, according to Sportskeeda.
“Xenophobic owner and most likely employees as well. Saw his behavior on TikTok. Disgusting!!! He should be ashamed,” another review said.
Google and Yelp have since disabled reviews for the business.
LaGoe has yet to publicly comment on the incident.
About Aspen Green Gasworks: LaGoe’s business, which was created in 2007, has a showroom in Herndon and in Arlington County. Aspen Green Gasworks is known for its gas fireplaces, gas grills and stoves and tankless gas water heaters.
