WASHINGTON:
In an incident that was reported to federal authorities, Texas police said a lady hurled racist epithets at four Indian women in a viral video, asking them to “Go back to India.”
In an incident that was reported to federal authorities, Texas police said a lady hurled racist epithets at four Indian women in a viral video, asking them to “Go back to India.”
We are collaborating closely with the FBI and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division on this case, which may also qualify as a hate crime under federal law.
In a video of the incident, which was shared on social media and got millions of views, the woman was seen shouting racist comments in a parking lot at a group of four women of Indian origin.
“Go back to India, we don’t want you here,” she said in the video. “I hate you fucking Indians,” the woman, who identified herself as Mexican-American in the video, added.
The arrest of the woman took place on Thursday. The video of the incident from Wednesday went viral on social media, particularly in India and the United States.
Esmeralda Upton, the woman, was reportedly detained on two counts: “assault bodily injury” and “terroristic threats.” She was detained under a $10,000 total bond.
Rani Banerjee, one of the Indian women, claimed that she and her three friends had just completed eating at a restaurant when they were approached by the woman in the parking lot.
“Suddenly, we heard this woman yelling at us and started coming toward us. We were shocked by the racial slurs that she used and combative attitude,” Banerjee told an ABC News affiliate. Banerjee started recording the incident with her phone.
The video also appears to show Upton hitting the women.
“What was so very scary is she came very close and not only verbally assaulted us but started physically assaulting us. She started hitting me,” Banerjee said.
A representative of Upton could not immediately be reached for comment.
