Washington man admits to stabbing Black woman, calling her Rosa Parks
- - Washington man admits to stabbing Black woman, calling her Rosa Parks
Marc Ramirez, USA TODAYDecember 24, 2025 at 1:58 AM
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A Washington state resident has pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges linked to a 2024 incident in which a Black woman using Seattle-area public transit was assaulted by a man who called her “Rosa Parks” and told her to move to the back of the bus.
Adan Hernandez-Mayoral, 24, of Auburn, Washington, entered the plea Tuesday, Dec. 23, in U.S. District Court in Seattle, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Western Washington.
The incident took place on March 7, 2024, when court papers say Hernandez-Mayoral began making derogatory comments about Black people while aboard a King County Metro bus in Kent, Washington.
The newly unveiled Rosa Parks statue, far right, is across from the Jefferson Davis statue on the state capitol grounds in Montgomery, Ala., on Friday October 24, 2025.
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When a Black woman aboard the bus turned to see who was making the racist comments, Hernandez-Mayoral yelled at her to look away, the documents said.
Hernandez-Mayoral then made additional comments, including calling the woman “Rosa Parks,” evidently referencing the Alabama activist whose 1955 arrest for refusing to comply with segregation orders aboard a Montgomery bus sparked a year-long boycott that ended with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that banned discrimination on city buses.
The woman walked to the front of the bus to call the police as Hernandez-Mayoral followed, the documents said. When the bus stopped, he pushed her off the vehicle and thrust a knife at her abdomen multiple times before running away.
While the woman’s heavy coat was thick enough to prevent the knife from puncturing her skin, prosecutors say the assault nonetheless caused bodily injury.
This 2013 file photo shows, from left, Montgomery postmaster Donald Snipes, keynote speaker Riche' Richardson and director of the Rosa Parks Museum Georgette Norman during the unveiling of the new Rosa Parks postage stamp at a celebration of the 100th birthday of Rosa Parks at Troy University's Montgomery campus.
As Kent Police searched for the suspect, the department received a call reporting a man hiding in a resident’s yard near the scene of the assault. Officers found Hernandez-Mayoral hiding under a car.
Hernandez-Mayoral was charged with a hate crime involving bodily injury and a dangerous weapon. His sentencing is scheduled for March 17, 2026 and his charges carry the maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Washington man admits stabbing Black bus rider, calling her Rosa Parks
Source: “AOL Breaking”
