Groups urge DA to act: Organizations call on Hopper to bring charges in hate case

Jun. 1—In a continued push to see action be taken in relation to a possible hate crime incident that occurred last year, a group of California-based organizations sent a letter to the Sutter County district attorney urging she press charges.

The letter, sent by the Sikh Coalition, includes 12 other advocacy, civil rights, community, legal and faith-based organizations. In it, they call on Sutter County District Attorney Amanda Hopper to "take action by pressing charges against the aggressor who threatened, berated, and endangered the life of Mr. Rouble Paul Claire," who is described as a Sikh member of the Sutter community. The "aggressor" has been identified in multiple documents and statements as Hollis or Ms. Hollis.

"Almost one year ago, Mr. Rouble Paul Claire, a first generation Sikh American and father whose family has called Sutter home since 1973, was threatened with a racial slur and vehicular violence at a local store and then, in a second separate but related incident hours later, subjected to more racial slurs and hateful graffiti at his home," Graham West, media and communications director for the Sikh Coalition, previously said in a statement. "Mr. Claire, age 66, immediately notified the Sutter County Sheriff's Office (SCSO); but after months of delay and inconsistent responses, he retained the Sikh Coalition for free legal help in October of 2021."

According to West and the Sikh Coalition, Claire was allegedly accosted by Hollis in his neighborhood while at South Butte Market on May 11, 2021. Hollis allegedly yelled and cursed at Claire. She allegedly called Claire a "f***ing Hindu" and threatened to "ram" him with her car. She then got back into her car and allegedly sped toward Claire in the parking lot, before swerving away at the last moment.

Later that day, a separate woman that was allegedly connected to the "assailant," wrote "sand n****r," a racist slur used against people of Middle Eastern descent, in chalk outside of Claire's house and in his driveway. She also allegedly called him a "n****r," an ethnic slur typically used against Black people.

Because Claire was not able to identify who wrote the slurs, Hopper previously said criminal charges could not be filed because the identity of the suspect was unknown.

According to Sikh Coalition Legal Director Amrith Kaur Aakre, the suspect was known.

"Claire was able to identify Hollis. Hollis told the police that she knew who had graffitied ... on May 11. They didn't follow up, they didn't do anything," Aakre said in an interview with the Appeal. "Claire repeatedly went to get updates and they consistently said you just need to let it go, a report will be coming and it never came."

In their letter to Hopper, the groups claim that "after months of inaction, the Sutter County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) discussed possible hate related offenses" with the DA's office and "later recommended" that Hopper press charges that include "assault, assault with a deadly weapon, and criminal threats against the woman involved in the incident at the grocery store."

The groups believe that the report made by the SCSO should have provided enough evidence to take action.

"Despite this evidence, your office declined to press charges, claiming that there was insufficient evidence for the charges and that six months had passed since the incident," the letter states.

"The first thing that the DAs had said to us was that too much time had passed," Aakre said. "To me, that's a completely ridiculous, inadequate and lazy response. If time has passed, it's because the police failed."

In response to initial accusations and pleas made by the Sikh Coalition, including a civil suit filed against the SCSO, Sutter County and the individual who threatened Claire, Hopper provided a statement to the Appeal contending that she had done everything she could do as a district attorney.

"The Sheriff's Office did not refer this case to my office for hate crimes against Mr. Claire. The referred charge was for violating Penal Code Section 245(a)(1), assault with a deadly weapon. The probable cause statement from the Sheriff's Office did not contain sufficient evidence to prove this crime beyond a reasonable doubt, specifically as the eye witness stated that it did not appear that the suspect attempted to hit Mr. Claire but was merely trying to block him in," Hopper said. "If the alleged information contained in the civil documents are accurate, then my office has not received all of the reports and evidence referenced. Should all evidence be submitted to the District Attorney's Office, we will conduct a new review and legal analysis of the facts and make a filing decision. The statute of limitations for the requested charge is three years so the case can be filed anytime prior to May 11, 2024."

In her previous statement, Hopper contended that she can only pursue cases that meet the burden of proof.

"I take hate crimes very seriously. I also have an ethical and legal duty to only file cases that meet the burden of proof. This case does not," Hopper said.

Aakre said she disagreed with that particular statement.

"Proof beyond a reasonable doubt — I understand that burden. If you look at the actual charges, the burden has been met," Aakre said.

The letter sent Tuesday also contends there is enough evidence to pursue charges and that "alleged obstacles to your ability to prosecute this case have thus been removed."

In response to Tuesday's letter, Hopper reiterated her position.

"Nothing in the Sikh Coalition's latest letter is new. They continue to erroneously claim that the Sheriff's Office requested that multiple criminal charges be filed against Ms. Hollis when in fact, the only charge requested was assault with a deadly weapon," Hopper said in an emailed statement. "I previously explained why the evidence is insufficient to prove that crime. No new evidence has been provided to my office for that, or any other crime. The District Attorney's Office is committed to prosecuting hate crimes aggressively if the evidence establishes that a hate crime occurred and if the suspect is identified. Sadly, such evidence has not been presented in this case despite the inaccurate claims to the contrary. Should sufficient evidence of a hate crime, including locating a suspect, be presented, the District Attorney's Office will re-open the case."

Aakre stressed with the Appeal that the group's main issue with Hopper was that she was not being aggressive enough in taking action.

"We're not trying to exert influence. The reality is what we want to see from her is service to the people she is supposed to represent. In this case, it consists of being accurate ... putting in the time and resources to evaluate charges recommended to her," Aakre said. "... She has a job to do and that's her job. That's the job of everybody in their office."

The coalition and groups that sent the letter highlighted the seriousness of possible hate crimes and the effects they can have.

"Our organizations have seen firsthand how these kinds of threats, fueled by bigotry, can escalate into even worse violence if left ignored and unchecked. Mr. Claire deserves to know that Sutter County will not tolerate this type of criminal action and racist abuse directed at him or any other minority living in your community," the letter states. "As the District Attorney, you have both the power and the responsibility to begin to make this right by charging the woman who threatened and berated Mr. Claire with all applicable charges, including those involving bias. We urge you to act immediately, and in doing so, take a step towards ensuring that hate and bigotry are not to be tolerated in Sutter County. Your mandate as a public servant demands nothing less."

The groups who signed the letter sent to Hopper on Tuesday include the Asian Law Alliance; San Jose Nikkei Resisters; Cambodian Women's Association; CA Church IMPACT; Jakara Movement; Sikh Family Center; Dear Community; The Arc of California; Stand with Asian Americans; American Jewish Committee (AJC) California; Council on American-Islamic Relations, California; Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism; and the Sikh Coalition.