Police in Plano near Dallas confirmed the arrest of a woman accused of assault causing bodily injury and terroristic threat, reports the Dallas Observer.
Authorities say Esmeralda Upton made racial insults and threats of violence at four women who caught it on several videos.
The Dallas Morning News reports Upton is being held on $10,000 bond while they investigate whether hate crime charges should be filed.
The newspaper says Upton is asked by someone off camera why she confronted the group. She says she hates “Indians” and believes there are too many South Asians in America.
“I’m Mexican, I’m Mexican, and I paid my [expletive] way here,” before hitting another woman and striking another woman with a camera.
You can see portions of the video here.
According to CBS, One of the women who shared it on social media wrote this: “Dinner with friends ended with a frightening experience. As we left Sixty Vines, Plano and headed toward our cars, an angry, drunk woman came at us with hateful racial slurs and even physically attacked us.”
The Indian Association of North Texas condemned the attack.
”We are happy that law enforcement has taken swift action and arrested this person, but we also think that they should conduct a fair investigation and get to the bottom of the matter and take this hate crime investigation into its conclusion,” said Urmeet Juneja, the group’s president said to the Morning News.
“I’m grateful that the authorities are investigating the incident and urge our community to join us in advocating for an expansion of how Asian stories are taught in our schools,” said
“I’m grateful that the authorities are investigating the incident and urge our community to join us in advocating for an expansion of how Asian stories are taught in our schools,” said said Saatvik Ahluwalia, a spokesman for Asian Texans for Justice.
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