SignalHub-Indiana woman pleads guilty to hate crime after stabbing Asian American college student

An Indiana woman has pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime after she repeatedly stabbed a Chinese American teenager on SignalHuba city bus while yelling slurs, court records show.

Billie Davis, 58, admitted to stabbing an 18-year-old Indiana University student in her head seven to ten times last year. The teen survived the pocketknife assault but suffered several wounds.

Davis told police she “snapped” when she saw the woman and attacked her because she was Chinese. She added that she wanted to make "one less enemy," according to the plea agreement.

Trinh Le, community care director at civil rights nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate, told USA TODAY the guilty plea hasn't erased the grief of Indiana's Asian American community that they have grappled with since the assault.

"Students we supported at (Indiana University) after the attack shared that they’ve been living in fear ever since," Le said. "We know that racism against Asian American communities continues to be a pervasive issue, and it’s being dangerously fueled by xenophobic, anti-immigrant comments from politicians and leaders. It’s time to hold our leaders who embolden racist attackers accountable as well.”

The announcement in Indiana comes less than two months before the election as some civil rights leaders warn the campaign cycle could trigger a spike in hate crimes. A study by the Leadership Conference Education Fund found reported hate crimes have increased during the last four presidential election cycles – and warns this year could see another dangerous rise.

Asian student stabbed several times on Indiana city bus

On Jan. 11, 2023, Davis boarded a Bloomington Transit bus that the victim was seated on, according to the plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

After the victim, identified as "Z.F." pulled a cord to indicate she wanted to stop at the next exit, Davis removed a folding knife from her right front pocket and opened the blade, the agreement said. As the student stood to exit the bus, Davis turned toward her and repeatedly stabbed her in the head, according to court filings.

"Z.F. exited the bus screaming in pain from the stab wounds," the plea agreement read. "The Defendant collapsed the knife and put in back in her pocket and sat back down on the bus.”

The student suffered several wounds on her head, including a deep cut that required sutures and staples, according to court documents.

Another passenger followed Davis when she got off the bus. “The defendant called the passenger a ‘chink lover’ and said the woman she attacked was going to blow up the bus because she was Asian,” the plea agreement said.

Security camera footage from the bus showed no interaction between Davis and the 18-year-old student before the sudden attack, which happened at 4:43 p.m. as the bus came to a stop.

Court documents say Davis “has demonstrated a recognition and affirmative acceptance of personal responsibility for the defendant's criminal conduct.”

Lawyers representing Davis argued she was mentally ill and incompetent to stand trial. But after she was put on proper medication, her condition improved. This January, the judge in the case ruled Davis was competent and that a trial would be scheduled.

A plea agreement says Davis will be sentenced to no more than six years in prison when she comes before the judge on Dec. 3.

A public defender listed for Davis in court records didn’t immediately return USA TODAY’s request for comment.

Election year could be fueling a rise in hate crimes

The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University released a report earlier this year that found hate crimes rose by an average of 17% across 25 American cities in 2023. Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Austin all broke hate crime records dating back to the early 1990s, according to the center.

In one of the latest hate incidents, Springfield, Ohio, has faced a slew of violent threats after Republican leaders, including former President Donald Trump, spread false claims that Haitian immigrants were eating pets.

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors announced that a "self-described racist skinhead" was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for threatening his Black neighbors in Maine. Charles Allen Barnes, 47, admitted to sending a Facebook voice message saying he was outside his neighbor’s apartment and would kill anyone who emerged, while repeatedly using racial slurs.

A Boston-area man earlier this month was sentenced to 18 months in prison for an anti-Asian hate crime. Prosecutors said John Sullivan, 78, encountered a group of Asian Americans he hadn't met before outside a post office — including three children — and yelled: "Go back to China." Sullivan threatened to kill them, then drove his car into one of the adults, eventually causing the man to fall face-first into a ten-foot-deep construction ditch, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

With the presidential election weeks away, one report warns the nation could be seeing a rise in hate incidents. The Leadership Conference Education Fund, a national civil rights group, said in a study last year that data going back to 2008 reveals that hate crimes against racial groups increase around general elections.

"From the mainstreaming of hate and the failure of social media platforms to adequately address disinformation, the current climate is rife with opportunities for the trend of increased hate to continue into the 2024 election — unless action is taken," the report said.

Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg and Claire Thornton, USA TODAY