A white woman from the town of White Center, nearby Seattle, is being held in jail on $500,000 for posting a Facebook Live video that has been deemed to be evidence of a hate crime. In the 10-minute video, part of which is still available online, 48-year-old Sandra Jametski tailgates a Hispanic woman, named Dolores (whose last name was not released for her protection), while she hysterically delivers a racist rant about "Spanish privilege."
The video was posted on Nov. 21, and Jametski was jailed on Dec. 3 upon being charged with malicious harassment, which is considered a hate crime, reports The Seattle Times. She pleaded not guilty to the charge at her arraignment on Dec. 15. The judge has denied the defense's motion to reduce the charges to misdemeanor harassment and also to reduce the bail.
“This is America. We don’t drive like that here. We don’t drive like you’re in Mexico, lady,” shouts Jametski.
It turns out that Jametski and Dolores live less than a quarter-mile away from each other and that Jametski has been aware of (and upset about) the presence of Dolores' family in their neighborhood for some time now.
“This is my freakin’ neighborhood. This is where I grew up. I grew up here, not them," Jametski yells while driving. "This woman don’t deserve to belong here, she don’t belong here. She don’t (expletive) belong here.”
Jametski is alleged to have threatened to "ram" Dolores' vehicle during the Facebook Live rant, according to court papers. Dolores was driving her son to school while being tailgated by Jametski. Upon arriving in the school parking lot, Jametski got out of her car and confronted Dolores, still recording their interaction with her phone and broadcasting it to Facebook Live. She is alleged to have threatened Dolores with a lawsuit as well as deportation.
It so happens that Jametski and Dolores' daughter (driving her mother's vehicle) had been involved in an accident over a year earlier. The daughter, 16 at the time, had just gotten her learner's permit. She went out for a drive with her mother on Nov. 25, 2015, and shortly after leaving home, another vehicle -- that of Jametski's -- began tailgating them, said Dolores.
Dolores' daughter signaled to turn left, and while preparing to turn, Jametski allegedly tried to pass them (on the left). There was no contact between the two cars, but Jametski lost control and crashed into a curb and a pole. A man got out of Jametski's car and began yelling at Dolores and her daughter, who, at the time, were not aware that Jametski was the driver, as she apparently did not leave the vehicle.
An accident report confirms Dolores' account of the incident. Jametski was cited for passing in a no passing zone, and neither Dolores nor her daughter are mentioned in the report. In her incriminating Facebook Live video, Jametski threatens to sue Dolores for totaling her vehicle and for putting her in life-threatening danger.
Dolores did not call police after her direct confrontation with Jametski, but her family chose to do so after they became aware of the Facebook Live video, feeling that Jametski was targeting them and encouraging others to do the same. "She knew our house, she knew our cars, she knew where my brother goes to school,” said Dolores’ 21-year-old daughter, Adriana. “She seemed to have a personal vendetta against everyone in our family. We just felt really threatened and scared and just didn’t feel safe.”
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Mike Hogan referred to the incident as "an attack on the entire Latino community."
Factored into Jametski's $500,000 bail is her past criminal record, which includes convictions for second-degree assault as well as driving under the influence.
