Hate crimes in the US: Texas woman convicted of racist slur against Asian Americans in viral incident in 2022

A woman in Plano, Texas, has been convicted of hate crimes after allegedly physically and verbally attacking several Asian American women in 2022. The Collin County District Attorney has announced that 59-year-old Esmeralda Upton was convicted on Friday, June 14, of three minor assault offenses and one minor terroristic threatening offense. Each charge carries a state hate crime enhancement.

In August 2022, Upton allegedly attacked four South Asian women outside Sixty Vines restaurant in Plano. He attempted to hit three of them and threatened the other, telling her to “go back to India.” The victims recorded the incident on their cell phones and the video soon went viral.

The victims were of South Asian descent. Upton continued to make racist comments even after Plano police arrived on the scene. She was subsequently arrested on state charges and later pleaded guilty to all four counts.

According to a statement from the Collin County District Attorney, “Upton was sentenced to two years’ probation and 40 days in the Collin County Jail for each of the counts. The sentence will be served concurrently, and Upton was fined $500 on each count.”

“As Americans, we should all be able to enjoy our constitutional freedoms, free and safe from these types of racially motivated attacks,” said Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis. “In fact, America is the only nation on Earth defined more by its ideals than by race or ethnicity. I want to thank U.S. Attorney Damien Diggs and his prosecutors, the Plano Police Department and the FBI’s Dallas Field Office for their work and partnership in this important case.”

What does the video show?

When one of the victims described Upton as white, she said she was Mexican. In the video, Upton was heard saying, “I was born here.” She also made comments such as, “We don’t want you here” and “If things are going so well in your country, stay there.”

At one point, Upton appeared to walk away, but quickly returned and physically attacked the victims. The phone used to record the video was apparently knocked away. One of the victims attempted to explain that she was a naturalized citizen, to which Upton responded, “You’re a naturalized citizen. You’re not a born and raised citizen.”

One of the victims, Anamika Chatterjee, read a statement before Upton’s sentencing. “My American-born children look like Indians. Because of your hatred and attacks, I am now in constant fear for them,” Chatterjee reportedly said.

“This is the worst effect of what you did to me – this constant worry and fear. It still amazes me that a person from a minority background like you – which you boasted about during the incident – behaves like this, without a trace of shame,” she added.