By The opinion
17 Oct 2023, 12:48 PM EDT
Some gardeners of Hispanic origin were attacked by a couple from Connecticutbut instead of confronting them, one of the victims recorded the moment and now the attackers face legal problems.
Robert Shaw, 62, and Sharon Bourgeois-Williams, 58, verbally attacked the Hispanics while they were working at a nearby house in Middletown, Connecticut.
In the video that went viral on several social networks, including Facebook and TikTok, the couple is heard questioning the legal status of the Hispanics, who are brothers originally from Puerto Rico, so they are American citizens.
“I was thinking that he was going to ask us for a job or do something in his garden,” José Martín told WFSB. “As soon as I saw her cursing at us, I grabbed my phone immediately. I said, ‘Okay, this is going to be a problem.'”
In the images you can read that the brothers have a landscaping company, called JA Martin Landscaping.
The pair of attackers complained about the noise.
“Do you still want to make noise in the neighborhood? We don’t do that shit here,” the woman is heard saying.
The lady then questions if the gardeners have visas.
“It makes some good videos to have to cross the border again,” Bourgeois-Williams said. “You are clowns. Do you have a visa? Do you have a visa to be here? Do you have a visa to be here? Are you here legally?”
The couple was arrested because they blocked the progress of the workers’ van, while the attackers also asked them if they “speak English.”
Middleton Police confirmed the arrest of the couple, due to their hostile behavior, although they are now free pending the next steps of the judicial process.
The couple was interviewed by local Channel 8, where they apologized to Puerto Ricans, claiming that they were not racist and that they even had a relative from Puerto Rico.
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