Renton, WA couple looks to move after claiming years of homophobic harassment
A Renton couple says they're facing ongoing homophobic harassment, including slurs and an attempted break-in at their home.
Fernando Vega says he was shot with an airsoft gun after confronting a group trying to break into his sister's room.
Renton Police are investigating the incidents, and the family is raising funds to move to a safer neighborhood.
RENTON, Wash. - A Renton couple says they are looking to move to a new home after enduring years of homophobic harassment in the Fairwood neighborhood.
Fernando Vega says his Ring camera captured kids in his apartment complex ripping off a Pride flag from his porch in the summer of 2023.
Vega says he spoke with the boy's parents, who later apologized. But in April 2025, Vega says his Ring camera captured a boy, claiming he was the person who stole his Pride flag in 2023.
Vega claims he, his husband and his sister have suffered harassment, homophobic and racial slurs, and this past week, an attempted break-in.
"I do not believe this is a joke, this is malicious," said Vega.
Vega says he and his family were at home on Wednesday night, when a group tried to break into his sister's room, and he went running after them.
"That's when I told them they needed to get off the property, yelling at them, trying to get them to leave," said Vega.
Instead of apologizing, Vega says someone in the group pulled out an airsoft gun and began shooting at him.
"I was hit probably between 20 to 30 times," said Vega.
The Renton Police Department confirms officers did meet with Vega for a report of malicious mischief, and they are currently investigating this case.
In the meantime, Vega and his family are trying to move to a more accepting neighborhood and have started a GoFundMe to help them with moving expenses.
The Source
Information in this story came from the Renton Police Department and original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.
Seattle traffic to be impacted from upcoming protests
Authorities shift tactics in search for WA triple murder suspect Travis Decker
Manhunt for Travis Decker moves to WA's Kittitas County
Anti-Trump 'NO KINGS' protests planned for Seattle this weekend
Seattle police disperse 'ICE OUT' protesters after fire breaks out downtown
Everything you need to know about Seattle Pride Parade 2025
Things to do for Father's Day in Seattle
To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.
Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
11 minutes ago
- Axios
ICE arrests of noncriminals surge in the DMV
Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests of people without criminal charges or convictions have jumped in D.C., Virginia and Maryland, newly obtained data shows. Why it matters: The numbers illustrate a major shift that occurred soon after the Trump administration tripled ICE's daily arrest quota. Driving the news: In Virginia and D.C., people without criminal charges or convictions made up an average of 60% of daily ICE arrests in early June, per agency data obtained by the UC Berkeley School of Law's Deportation Data Project. That's up from about 50% in early May, before the quota increase. That percentage was only slightly lower in Maryland: 55%, up from 49% in May. In January, ICE didn't conduct any D.C. noncriminal arrests. The big picture: Nationwide, an average of 47% of daily ICE arrests were of people without criminal records in early June, a jump from about 21% a month prior. The spike came despite the Trump administration's claimed focus on criminals living in the country illegally. And it happened just after the Trump administration told ICE to arrest at least 3,000 people daily, up from 1,000. The other side: Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Axios that 70% of ICE arrests were for immigrants with criminal convictions or pending charges, but did not elaborate on that figure. Context: Being in the U.S. illegally is a civil, not criminal, violation. The intrigue: Virginia is one of a few states where efforts to arrest and remove unauthorized immigrants is most aggressive. In February, the state launched the nation's first task force that partners with federal agencies to target illegal immigration. Feds have also accessed Virginia's automatic license plate reader system for immigration enforcement this year — though a new state law more strictly regulates the use for criminal or missing/endangered person investigations only. By the numbers: Overall, ICE arrests are up more than 350% in Virginia since 2024, according to the New York Times. Nearly 3,000 people were arrested between January and May — nearly outpacing larger states like New York. Meanwhile, ICE has been ramping up enforcement at courthouses across the U.S. Zoom in: Fairfax County, home to hundreds of thousands of immigrants and Virginia's largest immigration court, has seen twice as many arrests as others in the state, according to the Times. Advocates say ICE agents arrested several people showing up for immigration hearings at the Annandale courthouse last month. Flashback: Immigration enforcement at courthouses wasn't allowed under the Biden administration. It's happened in others, but not commonly.
CNN
16 minutes ago
- CNN
Brazil's President Lula says Trump was ‘not elected to be emperor of the world,' as US-Brazil spat escalates
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has hit back at Donald Trump's tariff threats, saying that his American counterpart was elected as the leader of the United States and 'not to be the emperor of the world.' Last week, Trump threatened Brazil with crippling tariffs of 50% starting August 1, according to a letter posted to his social media platform, Truth Social. In the letter, Trump linked the astronomical tariff threat to what he described as a 'witch hunt' trial against Brazil's right-wing former president, Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro, a close Trump ally, is facing trial in Brazil for allegedly attempting to overthrow Lula following his presidential win in 2022. He could face more than four decades behind bars if found guilty of masterminding the coup. Speaking exclusively to CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Thursday, da Silva, who is widely known as Lula, said that Trump's threats had broken away from 'protocol' and argued that his predecessor's fate cannot be part of trade negotiations. 'The judiciary branch of power in Brazil is independent. The president of the Republic has no influence whatsoever,' he said, adding that Bolsonaro 'is not being judged personally. He is being judged by the acts he tried to organize a coup d'etat.' Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing. On Friday, Trump posted a letter to Bolsonaro on Truth Social, in which he suggested the former Brazilian leader was the victim of an 'unjust system' and saying that he would be 'watching closely.' Lula said Trump would be standing trial in Brazil if the actions he took during the January 6 insurrection had been committed in the South American country. 'If Trump was Brazilian and if he did what happened at Capitol Hill, he'd also be on trial in Brazil. And possibly he would have violated the Constitution. According to justice, he would also be arrested if he had done that here in Brazil,' he said. Speaking through an interpreter, Lula also expressed disappointment at Trump's approach, saying at first that he couldn't believe the US president's social media post was authentic. 'It was very unpleasant,' he told Amanpour. 'I thought it was fake news.' Brazil has now vowed reciprocal tariffs if Trump follows through with his threat, marking the first time in months another country has challenged Trump in the face of tariffs. 'Brazil is to take care of Brazil and take care of the Brazilian people, and not to take care of the interests of the others,' Lula said, adding: 'Brazil will not accept anything imposed on it. We accept negotiation and not imposition.' Unlike the more than 20 other countries that have received letters from Trump this month, the US ran a $6.8 billion trade surplus with Brazil last year. That means that the US exported more goods to Brazil than it imported from there – an imbalance that should already satisfy Trump's trade agenda. Top US exports to Brazil in 2024 included aircraft and spacecraft, fuels, industrial machinery like nuclear reactors, and electrical equipment, according to US Census Bureau data. A retaliatory 50% Brazilian tariff on American goods could severely harm these industries. Still, Lula underscored his willingness to come to an agreement with Washington on Thursday, saying that it is up to Trump to 'seriously' consider negotiation and that he hopes the US president will change his mind. 'I'm not a progressive president. I am the president of Brazil. I don't see President Trump as a far-right president. I see him as the president of the US – he was elected by the American people,' the former labor organizer told Amanpour, dismissing the possibility that their ideological backgrounds could embitter negotiations. 'The best thing in the world is for us to sit around a table and talk,' he added. 'If President Trump is willing to take seriously the negotiations underway between Brazil and the US, then I'll be open minded to negotiate whatever may be necessary. But what is important is that the relationship between the two countries cannot go on like this,' he said. Meanwhile on Tuesday, the US launched an investigation into what it called 'unfair' trading practices by Brazil, escalating the spat with the world's 10th largest economy. The investigation will focus on digital trade and electronic payment services, preferential tariffs, and anti-corruption interference, as well as intellectual property protection, to determine whether there are 'unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict' American commerce, according to a statement by the United States Trade Representative (USTR). It will also look into ethanol market access and illegal deforestation. CNN's Elisabeth Buchwald, Lily Farrant and Ana Bickford contributed reporting.
Newsweek
42 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Trump Border Czar Blasts Hunter Biden: 'Former First Drug Addict'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, dismissed Hunter Biden's criticism of the administration's immigration policy, saying he did not care what the "former first drug addict" thought. Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, made the comments in an interview with independent journalist Andrew Callaghan that touched on a broad range of issues, including immigration. The younger Biden was convicted of three felony charges for federal gun violations in June 2024 and pardoned by his father in December. Hunter Biden has spoken publicly of his drug use. In his 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things, he wrote, "I was a crack addict and that was that." Then-President Joe Biden, left, and his son Hunter Biden in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on November 29, 2024. Then-President Joe Biden, left, and his son Hunter Biden in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on November 29, 2024. MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images Why It Matters Trump campaigned forcefully on the promise of mass deportations and beefed-up borders. The administration's actions, which include a marked increase in ICE raids, have underscored this focus. While immigration remains a cornerstone of Trump's second term and a defining issue of his administration, a poll this week by CNN showed that he hit a record low approval rating on the issue. What To Know In his interview on Callaghan's Channel 5, Hunter Biden dismissed "people that are really upset about illegal immigration," adding: "How do you think your hotel room gets cleaned? How do you think you've got food on your f****** table? Who do you think washes your dishes?" In an interview on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle, Homan derided Hunter Biden and defended the administration's immigration policy. "I don't really care what the former first drug addict thinks. I just thank God every morning I wake up we've got President Trump in the Oval Office," Homan said. He continued: "Because of President Trump, in seven weeks we've got the most secure border in the nation's history, and now we're arresting public safety threats and national security threats every day across this country. We've already arrested three times the number of criminals that Biden did during the same time frame." Homan added that Trump had recently committed to prioritizing immigration action in "sanctuary cities," which have laws and policies that limit or prevent their law enforcement officials from assisting federal officers with civil immigration arrests. In a Sunday poll from CNN conducted by SSRS, the president had a 42 percent approval rating on immigration and a 58 percent disapproval rating. The survey was taken between July 10 and 13 among 1,057 U.S. adults. It had a margin of error of 3.5 percent. In a survey taken from April 17 to 24, the president had a 45 percent approval rating and a 54 percent disapproval rating on immigration. In March, Trump had a 51 percent approval rating on the issue in a poll by CNN and SSRS, with a 48 percent disapproval rating. The survey also showed that 55 percent of U.S. adults believed the president had gone too far in deporting immigrants living in the country illegally. This is an uptick from an April poll showing that 52 percent believed so and a February poll showing 45 percent. What People Are Saying Tom Homan, the border czar, told Fox News in reference to sanctuary cities: "We're going to flood the zone. We're going to send hundreds of additional ICE agents to these cities. If they don't want to help us and get the bad guy in the county jail, then we're going to flood the neighborhoods until we find that guy. We're going to flood worksites until we find that guy because we're going to make this country safe again." Political analyst Craig Agranoff told Newsweek via text message on Monday: "This shift likely stems from increasing public discomfort with the administration's aggressive deportation policies and proposals for massive new detention centers, which polls show a majority of Americans oppose as going too far." What Happens Next Immigration will likely remain a divisive issue, shaping the domestic political landscape and the broader debate on the U.S.'s identity and values.
