Against Hate and Loathing in Las Vegas
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Henry Quindara, son of the victim, addresses rally attendees (Photo by Corin Ramos Lujan)
Filipino American leaders and representatives from diverse communities around the valley gathered on the steps of the Regional Justice Center to show support for 75-year-old Amadeo Quindara, who moved to Las Vegas from New York in 2008 with his wife, Leonida.
Hate crime victim Amadeo Quindara and wife Leonida attend the Stop Asian Hate rally (Photo by Corin Ramos Lujan)
Among the attendees joining the rally with his parents were Ray Quindara, 50, a retired NYPD officer and a first responder to the 9/11 attacks. His voice breaking at times, the 22-year police veteran recalled watching his father getting emotional as he was being interviewed on TV: “I have never seen my dad cry, ever!”
Younger brother, Henry, a US military veteran, who flew from Seattle to attend the rally, said he became violently ill after watching his father’s interview and hearing the video footage of him screaming. “No son or daughter, nobody should ever hear their father scream the way he did! His screams will haunt me until the day I die.”
According to police reports, on the afternoon of May 30th, Quindara was resting in his garage when his neighbor, 44-year-old Christian Lentz approached and verbally threatened him. Thirty minutes later, home security video shows Lentz entering the garage; Quindara’s screams could be heard from the footage. Lentz allegedly picked Quindara up, slammed him into the ground, and punched him repeatedly.
“Before I could even stand up from the chair that I was sitting in, I couldn’t count how many times he was hitting me,” Quindara told local media after the incident, “until he lifted me up and slammed me on the ground. This was inside my garage.”
After slamming him on the ground, Lentz walked out, yelling “Die” multiple times, according to Quindara and a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report on Lentz.
Quindara alleges that the attack opened a gash in the back of his head. Photos of a bloodied and bruised Quindara have gone viral on social media. He also told police of previous incidents where he was verbally attacked with racial slurs by Lentz.
Quindara said the couple’s first negative interaction with Lentz was when they were speaking in Tagalog with their fellow Filipino neighbors. He said Lentz told the neighbors to speak English, calling them stereotypical Japanese names.
The next day, according to Quindara, Lentz threatened him, saying he would “put him on a ventilator” before walking away.
Lentz was initially charged with residential burglary, after being arrested and released from jail shortly after the attack.
Leaders and members of the Filipino American community thought Lentz was getting off too lightly with the burglary charge. After calling national media attention and publicity to the incident, they are credited with pushing for the district attorney’s additional charge of elder abuse perpetrated as a hate crime.
“The Filipino American community is heartbroken by this brutal act of violence,” said Jacqueline Peralta de Joya, president of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), Nevada. “Mr. Quindara could have been the father of any one of us!”
Jacqueline Peralta de Joya, president of the National Association of Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), Nevada. “Mr. Quindara could have been the father of any one of us!” (Photo by Corin Ramos Lujan)
At nearly 200,000, Filipino Americans make up the largest and fastest growing Asian group in Las Vegas.
The attack on Quindara is part of a surge of hate crimes against Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians. Crimes against these groups rose by 167% during the first year of the pandemic. Community groups attribute those rising numbers to political rhetoric that blamed people of Asian descent for the corona virus.
Minddie Lloyd, co-founder and president of Bamboo Bridges, a nonprofit organization advocating for and helping the AAPI community, said anti-Asian hate crimes are happening more often in the U.S., and they often go unreported.
“This senseless violence fueled by hate has to stop now!” Lloyd told the crowd. "If you see a hate crime, report it!"
The event on June 29, was organized by SEIU Nevada, Asian Community Development Council and Bamboo Bridges. Gloria Caoile, president of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, led the program.
Gloria Caoile, president of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, addresses the crowd (Photo by Corin Ramos Lujan)
Other prominent community leaders in attendance included Rozita Lee, former member of the White House Commission on AANHPI and Adviser to President Barack Obama, and National Advisor at NaFFAA; and Amie Belmonte, National Trustee, NaFFAA.
Leaders of the Hispanic and African American communities were also in attendance. Quindara’s alleged attacker, Christian Lentz, was due back in court on July 3.
Corin Ramos Lujan started her journalism career as a reporter for Philippine News. She was also the first managing editor for Filipinas Magazine in San Francisco Bay Area. Corin graduated from UC Berkeley, and currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
