Man charged with hate crimes after his rant at TikTokers goes viral
Arine Kim and her friend Elliot Ha were recording a TikTok video when they were subjected to horrific racial abuse
Emily Brown
A Colorado man has been arrested after a TikToker captured him allegedly making homophobic comments while they were trying to enjoy a meal out.
TikTok user Arine Kim was visiting a fast food restaurant in California with a friend on Christmas Eve when they were approached by a man who asked them if they were filming themselves and dubbed them 'weird homosexuals'.
The pair attempted to continue with their video, but the man returned to make increasingly offensive comments, all of which were caught on camera:
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Kim shared the video online following the incident, writing: "My friend and i were filming his reaction to my in-n-out order when this happened… "
The video has since amassed more than 18 million views, and just two days after it was filmed the San Ramon Police Department announced in a news release that they had arrested a 40-year-old man.
Jordan Douglas Krah was booked on two counts of committing a hate crime after allegedly approaching Kim and her friend, Elliot Ha, 'unprovoked and engaged in a homophobic and racist rant, causing the victims to fear for their safety', a news release from the police department explained.
"San Ramon Police Chief Denton Carlson became aware of the wide-spread video and reached out on social media accounts in an attempt to identify the victims and the suspect," the release explained.
"Following contact with the victims, a criminal investigation was initiated by San Ramon Police Detectives."
TikTok users were left shocked after hearing the comments made by the man in the video, who at one point asked Ha whether he was Japanese or Korean before saying: "Yeah, you're Korean, that's what I thought. You're Kim Jong-Un's boyfriend, huh?"
Speaking to NBC Bay Area, Kim said the thing that had her 'shaking most' was when the man told them to 'meet him outside' and continued to stare at them through the window of the restaurant.
The TikToker told the publication she and Ha waited at the restaurant until it was closed to avoid running into the man, and had employees from the company walk out with them to make sure they got to their cars safely.
The man appeared to have left the area by the time the pair went home.
Kim commented: "We happened to handle the situation relatively well, but had it been anyone else, had someone actually wanted to fight, had someone been older than me or weaker than me or whatever it might be, it is really heartbreaking.
"I think that reality really sunk in for me, especially just kind of watching it back on the video."
Krah remained in police custody as of yesterday (29 December).