Woman charged with hate crimes after police say she pepper-sprayed 4 people, made anti-Asian remarks

A woman was arrested and charged with hate crimes after being accused of making anti-Asian remarks while pepper-spraying four people in New York City last week. Madeline Barker, 47, from Merritt Island, Florida, is charged with two counts of assault as a hate crime, two counts of attempted assault as a hate crime and four counts of harassment as a hate crime, police said Friday. Before the arrest, the New York Police Department asked the public for help searching for the suspect and released video of a woman speaking to and using pepper spray on the victims. The video does…