VIDEO: Man shouts racial slurs, tosses hot coffee at Mexican driver; suspect arrested

Man shouts racial slurs, throws coffee at driver

A man was caught on camera yelling racial slurs and throwing his coffee at a Mexican driver on his way to work. A day after the video was shared on social media, Irvine Police arrested a suspect.

IRVINE, Calif. - Irivne police arrested a man accused of shouting racial slurs at a Mexican driver before tossing his hot coffee through the man's car window. The arrest comes just days after the man's family posted video of the racist exchange on social media.

What we know:

Robert Tackett of Irvine was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of a hate crime and aggravated assault, according to the Irvine Police Department. 

Video of the encounter was shared on social media earlier this week. In the video, a man in a white van is seen speeding to keep pace with a driver, shouting racial slurs and shouting "film me all you want to." The driver had a coffee cup in his hands.

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Then, in another clip, the victim is suddenly splashed with coffee, spilling all over him, his dashboard and the interior of his car. The same white van can then be seen speeding off. 

The backstory:

According to an Instagram post, the video was taken by a man on his way to work.

Irvine police told FOX 11 that Tackett was yelling at a separate Hispanic truck driver on Sand Canyon Avenue around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, when he started to follow the victim. Officials said that in addition to shouting racial slurs, Tackett drove aggressively, swerving into lanes, nearly crashing.

What they're saying:

In the Instagram post, the driver's spouse blamed President Donald Trump's rhetoric on Mexican immigrants for enabling Tackett's alleged actions.

"Why do they think they have the right to do this," the post asked. "Oh that’s right, Trump is normalizing this kind of racist behavior."

What's next:

The Irvine Police Department is still investigating the situation. Any witnesses or anyone with more video of the interaction should contact detectives.