Woman Charged After Hurling Racial Slur At Norwich Starbucks: PD

NORWICH, CT — A Moosup woman was charged after police said she hurled a racist slur at a driver outside a Starbucks in Norwich last week.

The Day reports Holly Chalifoux, 22, was charged with third-degree intimidation based on bigotry or bias. Chalifoux, who is white, is accused of yelling at the woman ahead of her in the drive-thru and calling her the “n-word” while driving off on June 2.

Marcela Lee told NBC Connecticut she was buying her breakfast at Starbucks when the woman behind her started revving her engine and yelling at her that she was late for work. Lee said she started recording and broadcast the encounter on Facebook Live.

In the video, Chalifoux be heard yelling profanities and the racial slur at Lee, according to NBC Connecticut. The Starbucks employees can also be heard comforting Lee, who didn't charge her for her breakfast. They assisted police with the investigation.

Chalifoux told police that she used different language and understood how it could be confused with the racial slur, but then admitted she said the n-word after police offered to play Lee’s video, according to The Day.

Lee had an emotional reunion with the Starbucks employees who helped her during the incident.

Read more at The Day here and NBC Connecticut here.