A woman from a viral video of a racist incident in Plano has reached a settlement with her attacker in a civil suit.
Esmerelda Upton approached four South Asian women, including Dr. Bidisha Rudra, outside the Sixty Vines restaurant in Plano three years ago. A video of the attack went viral on social media. Upton told Rudra and her friends to go back to their country.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want you here,鈥� Upton said. 鈥淚f things are so great in your country, then stay there.鈥�
Rudra鈥檚 attorneys said in a press release that they鈥檝e reached a settlement in Rudra鈥檚 civil suit against Upton. The terms of the settlement aren鈥檛 available, but the matter has been resolved to both parties鈥� satisfaction according to the release.
Upton pleaded guilty to four state hate crime charges in a Collin County court last year. She was also convicted on three misdemeanor assault charges and a misdemeanor terroristic threat charge. She was sentenced to two years of community supervised probation and forty days in jail for each case. The jail sentences were served concurrently. She was also charged four fines totaling $2,000.
Rudra said in the press release that the trauma from the confrontation motivates her to stand up to racial hate. Her attorneys represented her pro-bono after a referral from The Alliance for Asian American Justice, a national organization that advocates for victims of anti-Asian hate crimes.
鈥淭his crusade against racism is far from over,鈥� Rudra said. 鈥淚 will stand as an ally and a voice for those who are too afraid or hesitant to speak out. 鈥�
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
Caroline Love is a corps member for 四虎影院.
四虎影院 is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider today. Thank you.
