A Texas realtor was arrested after going on a verbal and physical racist tirade against several Indian women in Plano, Texas. Cell phone video began circulating late last week, but authorities say the incident happened Wednesday (Aug. 24) night.
On Thursday (Aug. 25), Esmeralda Upton was arrested by officers from the Plano Police Department. She was charged with misdemeanor assault and terroristic threats. Upton was later released upon posting a $10,000 bond. The video was first posted to Facebook and is just over five minutes long. In it, Upton is seen telling the Indian women, “We don’t want you here. If things are so great in your country, stay there.”
As Upton walks away, one of the women tells her, “We were not talking to you. Get lost.” The Texas realtor then turns around, walks up to them, and physically assaults the person recording the interaction. One of the Indian women present during the attack calls the police. While the woman is giving the operator Upton’s description, the Indian woman says, “She’s a white woman wearing a black dress.” Upton returns to say that she’s not white but “Mexican” and that she “paved her f**king way here” as she hits the woman who is on the phone with the police.
“Omg, she’s hitting my friend,” the woman filming says. Upton, who was just filmed striking the woman, says, “I am not hitting your friend.” Upton adds, “I hate you f**king Indians.” On Friday (Aug. 26), the Plano Police Department released a statement. They said although hate crime charges have yet to be filed, Upton’s actions are classified as a “hate crime in accordance with Texas laws.”
“We are working closely with the FBI and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division on this case,” the department’s statement noted. One of the Indian women from the video told WFAA-TV in Dallas that Upton approached them in a parking lot just as they were finishing dinner at Sixty Vines restaurant.