Torrance Tirade: Woman seen in anti-Asian rant facing battery charge for 2019 altercation

TORRANCE, Calif. (KABC) -- A woman seen in two viral videos delivering anti-Asian rants at a Torrance park has been charged with battery in connection to a 2019 incident at a Torrance mall, officials say.

Lena Hernandez, 54, of Long Beach had been previously identified as the woman seen telling one woman "Go back to whatever (expletive) Asian country you belong in."
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The same day she was also captured on video using similar offensive language to a man, speaking in a mock Asian accent, telling him to "go home" and calling him "Chinaman."
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She will not face charges in those two incidents because of insufficient evidence, according to the Torrance City Attorney's Office.

But she will face a misdemeanor battery charge in connection with an earlier incident.



After those videos came out, another woman stepped forward to report a physical altercation involving Hernandez in October 2019 at a local mall. That incident involved Hernandez allegedly verbal assaulting a custodian and then physically assaulting a woman who tried to intervene.



The alleged victim reported it at the time to Torrance police, but says no action was taken.
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The person tweeted: "I filed a police report on this same lady back in October 2019 due to a physical attack ON ME. Nothing came of it. What are you going to do about it NOW? @TorrancePD"

Now the Torrance City Attorney's Office says it has filed a criminal complaint for battery against Hernandez, a misdemeanor.

On Thursday, a judge issued an arrest warrant for her. Because of COVID-19, such misdemeanor cases would result in the person being released after arrest with low or no bail and in her case, it was set at $1.

Hernandez has not yet been arrested.