Woman arrested after racist rant, assault in restaurant lot

Mike Letterman

Aug 26, 2022, 2:27 PM
5 Views

This image provided by the Plano, Texas, Police Department shows Esmeralda Upton in her police booking photo on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022 in Plano, Texas. Upton was arrested and faces a possible hate crime charge after she was captured on video in a racist rant and assault on women of South Asian descent in a suburban Dallas parking lot. Plano police said in a statement Upton of Plano, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault and terroristic threat charges after the Aug. 24, attack. (Plano Police Department via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

A woman has been arrested and faces a possible hate crime charge after she was captured on video in a racist rant and assault on women of South Asian descent.

Plano police said in a statement that they arrested and charged a Plano woman with assault and terroristic threats. She was in jail with a high bond.

Rani Banerjee told Dallas TV station WFAA that she and three friends were in the parking lot of a restaurant when they were approached by a man.

We heard a woman yell at us and then she came towards us. The racial slurs that she used were shocking.

Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime. The jail officials didn't have an attorney for the man.

Shortly after 8 pm, there was a confrontation. Outside of a restaurant. A video showing a profanity-laden rant on them, challenging their presence in the U.S., threatening to shoot them and physically assault them was widely disseminated.