FBI Quietly Releases Extensive Vincent Chin File

(Source)

The FBI discreetly released a 602-page file Vincent ChinChinese-American cartoonist whose infamous 1982 killing sparked Asian-American activism and civil rights movements. The document, which was released June 20 and first reported by Detroit Free Pressincludes witness statements, FBI notes, letters, interviews, and newspaper clippings, offering a comprehensive account of the case.

• About the case: Chin died on June 23, 1982, after being struck with a baseball bat by Ronald Ebens in Highland Park, Michigan, four days earlier. The Justice Department launched an investigation into whether racial discrimination laws were violated. Ebens was acquitted of civil rights charges after a retrial, sparking protests over a perceived leniency and anti-Asian sentiment in Detroit.

• Conflicting accounts: The file contains previously unreleased documents, including eyewitness accounts of Chin’s final moments. Interviews reveal conflicting accounts of anti-Asian slurs during the incident, with some witnesses reporting hearing racist slurs and others saying Ebens showed no prejudice.

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