‘Go home now.’ Threatening letter to Asian business under investigation, Utah cops say

A letter sent to an Asian-owned business in Utah threatening Asians and praising the shootings in Georgia is under investigation, police said.

The Unified Police Department told McClatchy News that the letter was sent to an Asian business in Taylorsville and that police are working with the U.S. Postal Inspector because it was sent via U.S. mail.

“In the letter, it states that Asians need to go back to wherever they came from or more Asians may be killed. Very disturbing honestly,” Sgt. Melody Cutler said, according to ABC4.

The letter was sent the weekend after shootings at Atlanta spas left eight people dead, including six Asian women, Deseret News reported. The letter celebrated the Georgia killings and said Asians “caused COVID-19” and “need to go back to their countries” before they’re killed.

“All (Asians) must go home now. Spread the word or you may die,” the letter reads, according to the publication.

Police said the letter didn’t have a return address and there isn’t surveillance footage of who left the letter, KUTV reported.

The envelope and letter will also be tested for fingerprints, according to the station.

Whoever sent the letter could face terrorist threat charges or other federal charges depending on the findings of the investigation, authorities said. The incident is the only “Asian-related hate crime” reported by the Unified Police department in the past year, cops said.

Threats and attacks — including hate crimes — against Asian Americans have been on the rise in the U.S. in the year since the coronavirus pandemic began. Stop APPI Hate, a national coalition documenting and addressing anti-Asian hate and discrimination, received 3,795 accounts of anti-Asian hate from 47 states and the District of Columbia between March 19, 2020 and Feb. 28.