Plano woman pleads guilty to hate crime after viral video

A Plano woman who went viral on social media for making racist comments toward a group of South Asian women in Plano has been convicted of four hate crimes.

Esmerelda Upton pleaded guilty to four hate crime charges in a Collin County court. She was also convicted of three counts of assault and one count of terroristic threats.

Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said in a statement shared with KERA that people in the United States should not fear racially motivated attacks like the one in Plano.

“America is the only country on Earth defined more by ideals than by race or ethnicity,” Willis said.

The Collin County Prosecutor's Office said Upton was sentenced to two years of community supervision and 40 days in jail for both counts. The jail time will be served concurrently. She also has four fines totaling $2,000.

Two years ago, a video of Upton approaching four South Asian women outside the Sixty Vines restaurant in Plano and telling them to go back to their country went viral.

“We don’t want you here,” Upton said. “If things are going so well in your country, stay there.”

The confrontation was captured in a video that went viral on social media. The next day, police arrested Upton.

Chanda Parbhoo, the founder of South Asian American Voter Empowerment Texas, told KERA in a previous interview that anti-Asian hate is on the rise in Collin County, especially in Plano.

“We see racist crimes happening all the time and the only way to address it is to keep highlighting it and make sure people don’t forget,” Parhboo said.

Have a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.

Caroline Love is a Report for America corps member for KERA News.

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