Belmont woman arrested for hate crime on Peninsula

Laura Vawter just attacked a Spanish-speaking man for no reason

By Edward Era Barbacena 

A racist white woman accused of committing hate crimes on the Peninsula against Spanish-speaking people has been arrested, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office said.

Laura Vawter, 62, of Belmont, is accused of entering a laundromat in San Carlos Oct. 28 and attacking a man speaking Spanish on the phone, telling the man to “go back to Mexico,” the DA’s Office said. Following her arrest and release, she was subsequently arrested again for allegedly yelling and kicking staff and customers at Taqueria El Grullense on El Camino Real in Redwood City Nov. 2, the DA’s Office said.

Vawter allegedly has mental health issues and made numerous statements that were out of touch with reality, the DA’s Office said. She has been charged with a misdemeanor hate crime, battery and other misdemeanors. Vawter’s next court date is Nov. 9, and she remains in jail. No