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RIFLE, Colorado – An alleged act of hate committed in a grocery store in western Colorado was recorded on video, as were the actions of a woman who intervened to stop it.
That happened Monday at the Rifle Municipal Market.
Kamira Trent was arrested for shopping, as she always does, when she heard a woman tell two Hispanic women to leave the country because they spoke Spanish.
"I mean, I was disgusted. I could not believe I heard that, "said Trent. "No one should be treated that way, ever."
She says that instinct came into play.
"They were scared," said Trent. "They did not really know how to react. They both tried to get away from her and she would not let them go. "
Trent reacted.
"You are harassing people. Get out of here now. Do not call … I call the cops, "she shouted in defense of the two Spanish speakers.
Trent was unaware that someone was recording the confrontation. The video has become viral.
The woman in the video that confronted Spanish-speaking women is Linda Dwire. She was arrested and charged with two counts of bias-motivated harassment.
"It's absolutely comforting to see that people will defend others," said Scott Levin of the Anti-Defamation League.
His organization is detecting a sharp increase in hate crimes.
"Yes, it has increased for all groups," he said.
Levin said that confrontations such as this one can be dangerous.
"It's getting closer," he said. "It looks like she was catching her a little."
He congratulates Trent for what she did.
"We need to make sure that people understand that Colorado is not a place for hate, but that we are going to be respected people," Levin said. "We will act with kindness."
Trent said she was not sorry to intervene.
"She was just a hate person," she said.
She hopes the video will inspire others to do the same.
"I sincerely hope this video has inspired people to do it," said Trent. "Get up, talk, do not stay here and let things happen, it's not ok."
Dwire told police she was not racist. She just found the Spanish "offensive" and maintained that she exercised her freedom of expression.
Levin said that if someone encountered something like this, the best thing to do is to focus on separating the target or victim from harassment from the abuser.
One of the Spanish speaking women published the following on Facebook:
I never thought that would happen to me. I was in a shop chatting in Spanish with a friend when a woman started to insult us by telling us that if we lived in this country, we should not speak Spanish, but only English. Thanks to another woman (whom we did not know), she defended us and called the police; I think the police arrested the woman who was harassing us. I always see these videos on social media and it makes me so crazy; in my case, today, I can say that I felt so helpless.
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