US woman held for hate crime
EXPLETIVE-LADEN ATTACK AGAINST INDIAN AMERICANS IN DALLAS CONDEMNED
POLICE in Texas are investigating a hate crime after a woman was arrested last Thursday (25) over a video of her racially abusing and assaulting Indian American women which went viral on social media.
The incident took place in Dallas, Texas, last Wednesday (24).
The attacker, who claimed to be a Mexican born in the US, was seen asking a group of Indian American women to “go back to India”.
“I hate you fu ***** Indians. All these Indians, come to America for a better life. …You come to our country and want everything for free. I am a Mexican-American and I was born here,” said the accused. She was later identified as Esmeralda Upton.
One of the Indian American women tried to reason with her, saying, “What makes you think that we are not American?”
Upton replied, “It’s the way you speak. Because I am MexicanAmerican and I speak English.”
She continued her racist slant saying, “If life is so great in India, why the f**k are you in America?”
Upton also assaulted one of the women and asked them to turn off the camera that was being used to record the incident.
The video has since gone viral on social media.
Plano Police said they arrested Upton on charges of “assault bodily
injury” and “terroristic threats.” She is being held on a total bond of $10,000 (£8,578).
One of the Indian women, Rani Banerjee, said she and three of her friends had finished dinner at a restaurant when the woman confronted them in the parking lot.
“Suddenly, we heard this woman yelling at us and (she) started coming towards us. We were shocked by the racial slurs she used and (her) combative attitude,” Banerjee was quoted as telling an ABC News affiliate.
She began recording the incident with her phone. The footage 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 also started physically assaulting us.
“She started hitting me,” Banerjee said.
A representative for Upton could not immediately be reached for comment.
Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi urged the police in Dallas to prosecute the woman responsible for the attack to the full extent of the law.
“Such bigoted attacks motivated by racism, xenophobia, and other forms of hate victimise not only those directly targeted by them, but also broader communities through creating an atmosphere of fear and danger,” Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat, said.
“As our country continues to combat the surge in anti-Asian hate since the beginning of the pandemic, I urge all Americans to prove our country and our people are better than this,” he added.
The south Asian community in the US also condemned the incident. Arun Agarwal, president and co-founder of the Indian American CEO (IACEO) Council, spoke of the strength of the Indian American community in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“The ladies who were attacked are all very accomplished and do a lot to give back to the communities they live and work in. Neither they, nor anyone else, deserves to be humiliated in this manner,” he said.