Indian American family targeted by racist rant says they’ll press charges

An Indian American family from Massachusetts says that they will press charges against the woman who verbally lashed out at them with a racist rant, NBC News reports.

Wedding photographer Pervez Taufiq, his wife Nicole, and their three children were on a United Airlines shuttle after a flight from Mexico to Los Angeles, when another passenger told his four-year-old son to “shut up,” CBS News reports.

Taufiq pushed back, saying, “Don’t you ever speak to my son that way. You have no right.” The woman then proceeded to hurl numerous racist remarks towards Taufiq and his family, calling them “stinky” and “tandoori” as well as telling them that they were “not American”.

Taufiq recorded the incident on his phone and posted it on his Instagram on Nov. 23, and has amassed over 426,000 views. According to the post, the woman was removed from the bus by United, and a few passengers stood up for Taufiq’s family.

In an NBC News interview, Taufiq said that the woman was sitting next to his 11-year-old son on the flight from Mexico in business class. Taufiq’s son told him that the woman “asked if I was Indian, and I said yes, I was Indian”.

The woman in the video reportedly admitted to the incident in a Fox 11 interview, blaming her behavior on a previous “brain injury”. She also said that she was provoked by Taufiq and Nicole, and that Taufiq called her a derogatory term for white people. However, Taufiq said that he did not use such terms during the confrontation, and only told her to “shut up” after she yelled at his four-year-old son.

In the same interview with NBC, Taufiq said that he, at first, did not file a police report, but now plans on pressing charges after his attacker’s identity was shared with him. He said that by pressing charges, he hopes to make a statement that her behavior was unacceptable. While Taufiq did say he felt sorry for the woman, he said that she doesn’t feel remorseful based on her responses.

The assailant’s identity has not been made public. It is currently unclear if police will charge her with a crime.

AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.

We are supported through donations and such charitable organizations as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This holiday season, double your impact by making a tax-deductible donation to Asian American Media Inc and AsAmNews. All donations will be matched up to a total of $11,000.

Please also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and X.