2 Women Were Told to Speak English. Enter a 'Shero'

Linda Dwire arrested and charged with harassing 2 Mexican women shopping in Colorado
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 5, 2018 1:00 PM CDT
Woman Defends Mexican Pair From Harassment in Store
Linda Dwire.   (Garfield County Sheriff's Office)

A confrontation among four women in a Colorado grocery store has led to one being called a "shero," two grateful for her efforts, and a fourth, who calls herself the "patriotic" one of the bunch, arrested, per the Daily Dot. The incident took place at a City Market grocery in Rifle, where Fabiola Velasquez and Isabel Marin, both from Mexico, were doing some shopping Monday—uneventful until they were stopped by fellow shopper Linda Dwire, who'd overheard them speaking Spanish, the first two women tell BuzzFeed. Dwire went off on them, they say, telling them to learn English if they like America, with Velasquez adding that Dwire then started getting aggressive and putting her hand in Velasquez's face. That's when Kamira Trent, who was shopping in the same aisle, says she saw what was going on and stepped in to defend Marin and Velasquez.

A video on Velasquez's Facebook page now shared more than 16,000 times shows part of the screaming match between Trent and Dwire. Trent yells: "I'm calling the cops. You leave these women alone! Get out!" Dwire retorts, "You will lose your country" and starts to walk away, with Trent close behind. Trent did call the police, leading to Dwire's arrest on charges of bias-motivated harassment; she's due back in court next month. Dwire, who says she's confronted people not speaking English before, tells BuzzFeed her rant wasn't racist but a "patriotic thing" and that she doesn't mind immigrants coming here "as long as they want to be an American." Meanwhile, Velasquez says, "It felt good to see someone who was born here defend us that way." Trent's advice for others in similar situations: "Stand up and say something." (This man ranted against Spanish speakers in NYC.)

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