SAN FRANCISCO—A suspect that is said to be responsible for several attacks that occurred on Muni buses was arrested, the San Francisco Police Department announced on Thursday, April 20. The suspect has been identified as Joseph Benjamin, 44.
He is charged with two counts of battery committed against a transportation worker or passenger, and two counts of hate crime. Benjamin was found on the 500 block of Jones Street Friday, April 14 and taken into custody. He is also responsible for the egg attack that occurred in February that was caught on video.
In the video captured by Michelle Young, a man in a striped shirt can be seen making anti-Asian remarks while throwing eggs at a passenger who was trying to get him to stop. Young was one of the passengers who he was harassing.
After authorities reviewed the video, which went viral on social media, they determined that Benjamin was responsible for at least two other attacks on Muni buses. An unnamed woman of Asian descent told police that she had been victim to one of Benjamin’s attacks back on Christmas Day 2022. She claims that the suspect threw food at her and “made derogatory comments about her ethnicity and gender.”
Benjamin is being accused of attacking another Muni bus driver who is of Asian ancestry, back on February 13. The driver asked the suspect to leave the bus after he allegedly spit on another passenger and made threats.
On February 17, the SFPD made an announcement stating that these recent crimes against the AAPI community are deplorable and that they are doing their best to address it.
