A white woman has been banned from a Virginia restaurant after she harassed Spanish-speaking customers and their family visiting from Guatemala, telling them that they needed to speak English and demanding to see their passports.
The mother of the Hispanic family, who spoke to news station Washington 4 on the condition of anonymity, captured part of the altercation at Andy’s restaurant in Lovettsville. In the video, which has also been shared on Telemundo 44, the white woman tells the family to show them their passports, before the woman recording pushes back, saying the family member the woman is yelling at doesn’t know English and asking if she’s a police officer.
In another portion of the video, a white man beckons the white woman to come, taking her by the arm and walking her toward the door, as the white woman yells, “Go back to your fucking country, OK? Don’t freeload on America.” Someone else behind the man says they’re calling the police.
In a third portion of the video, the woman is seen on the steps of the restaurant saying, “You do not fucking come here and freeload on America. I’m tired of this shit. It’s the same as Sweden…”
“Look, we’ve gotta get out of here,” someone off-camera is heard telling the woman.
READ MORE:
- Living with the constant threat of death as a Black American
- From Chicano to Xicanx: A brief history of a political and cultural identity
- White feminism is fertile ground for white nationalism
The anonymous woman in the family being accosted, who Washington 4 has called Maria, said the white woman demanded to see the family’s passports (which was also captured in other portions of the video), before stating that she knew people who could get the family deported. Maria also said it was unfair that the confrontation happened, and it was especially unacceptable being that her 7-year-old daughter was present. Maria’s visiting cousins have also told her that they don’t want to come back to the U.S.
“…She started saying that we were supposed to speak English, but you know, like, ‘We’re not talking to you.’ They’re here visiting and they don’t know English, so how do you want them to speak English when they’re here just visiting?” Maria said. “It’s not fair for any child to have to go through that. You just don’t do that.”
While the police were called, no charges were filed. The white woman, however, is not allowed back at Andy’s.