Loudoun County NAACP wants consequences for hate speech after woman berates Spanish-speaking family

LOVETTSVILLE, Va. - The Loudoun County NAACP is demanding that lawmakers make hate speech a crime after a Latino family was berated by a woman in a restaurant in Northern Virginia.

The encounter was caught on video and quickly went viral.

The woman who verbally attacked the family was never arrested or charged after the encounter at Andy's Restaurant in Lovettsville because the sheriff's office says no crime was committed.

But that is what the NAACP wants to change.

The organization says it is planning to contact lawmakers in the county to demand that they draft an ordinance making hate speech a crime.

In the video, the woman shouts at the family, "Go back to your country" and more to a family speaking Spanish at the restaurant.

She also reportedly demanded to see their IDs.

A Loudoun County Sheriff's Office spokesperson says deputies responded to the restaurant after receiving a call from a customer. When the deputy arrived on the scene, the situation became more calm.

"While the language and racist comments exerted by this subject are disgusting and reprehensible, there was no probable cause to make an arrest. In further consultation with the Loudoun Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, there is no Loudoun County Ordinance or State Code within the Commonwealth for disturbing the peace," the sheriff's office said.

On Facebook, the restaurant's owner wrote a detailed post to the woman who yelled at the family titled, "Words of Thanks to a Former Customer."

The post says that although you have the right to declare your "despicable views," you also have the obligation to bear the consequences for speaking them.

The Loudoun County NAACP says they have already emailed lawmakers to schedule a meeting to discuss drafting an ordinance.