A San Jose mother was arrested Wednesday after automated license plate readers flagged her vehicle, police said, capping a saga that began with a viral roadside confrontation and expanded into a broader criminal investigation.
Lindsay Hansen, 47, was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of stalking and hate crimes, with bail set at $10,000, according to jail records. San Jose police announced the arrest Thursday, linking her to the filmed encounter with a father and his young daughter plus what they described as a “series of other incidents that occurred in the city of San Jose.”
The department’s Assaults Unit Detectives had launched what they called a “comprehensive investigation” into all reported incidents before locating and arresting Hansen within city limits. “SJPD Assaults Unit Detectives began a comprehensive investigation into all reported incidents and subsequently located and arrested the suspect in the city of San Jose,” police wrote in their statement. “She was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail for multiple crimes, including stalking and hate crimes.”
The arrest stemmed partly from footage that drew widespread attention online. In the video, Hansen pulls alongside the father and child through her passenger-side window and unleashes a torrent of accusations. “I’m recording you too. I work with the feds. Have a good day,” she says in the footage. She continues: “I’m just making sure that you’re not sex trafficking this poor little girl who’s very unhappy to be with you and doesn’t look like you.” Her rant culminates in the claim: “That’s a white little girl and you are a man of color. So I believe you are either buying or selling or trafficking this child.”
The man who posted the video described himself as brown and his daughter as half-white, and told viewers the woman had harassed them multiple times in their neighborhood.
Hansen’s online presence revealed a pattern of erratic and conspiratorial posts. She had suggested that Pope Leo XIV is Satan, shared numerous posts about the Epstein files, and published antisemitic content. In one post, she claimed the 2020 birth of her own child had triggered the seven-year tribulation, or end times. She also posted court paperwork from past psychiatric treatment, including an involuntary commitment to Telecare Heritage Psychiatric Health Facility under a 5250 hold in 2022.
A May 2022 declaration by Bay Area psychiatrist Dr. Shellie Kahane, filed as part of a petition for determination of capacity to refuse consent to medication, outlined Hansen’s diagnosed condition. The doctor wrote that Hansen showed symptoms consistent with bipolar disorder and was experiencing a manic episode with “psychotic features,” including delusions, auditory hallucinations, and paranoia. Kahane noted that Hansen “believes it is her job ‘to drive around and ID pedophiles’ and wants to continue to do so,” according to the filing. The document said she had been prescribed Invega, an antipsychotic medication, and that she did not believe anything was wrong with her or that she needed medication.
Police said Thursday that their investigation remains ongoing. “The San Jose Police Department is aware of the allegations circulating online and we remain committed to thoroughly investigating any reports of crime victimizing our community,” the department added. They also linked Hansen to a separate incident at a San Jose high school, though details of that encounter were not immediately disclosed.
Anyone with information is asked to contact SJPD Assaults Unit Detectives at (408) 277-4161.