Editor's note: Above video is from Jan. 4, 2019
MCMINNVILLE, Ore. -- An Oregon woman seen on video holding a knife and shouting racial slurs at a black couple at a McMinnville parking lot has been sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Amber Rocco, of Willamina, pleaded guilty to intimidation, unlawful use of a weapon and harassment. In addition to 30 days in jail, she was sentenced Tuesday to three years of probation.
Emora Roberson posted video on Facebook of Rocco’s racist Christmas Eve tirade and it quickly went viral. Roberson told KGW the dispute began because her aunt "parked crooked" at a strip mall on Highway 99W. Roberson said she was with her boyfriend, aunt and 15-month-old daughter, who was in the backseat.
"My daughter was asleep, and she woke up crying to some lady screaming at us," Roberson said.
The video, which is no longer publicly posted on Facebook, started in the middle of the argument. At the beginning of the video, Rocco was clutching a knife.
“No, I’m not trying to stab nobody. It’s called self-defense,” Rocco yelled at Roberson before using the racial slur.
Roberson said Rocco spit on her boyfriend and slapped him before she began recording. She said her boyfriend was warning Rocco about her behavior when she pulled out the knife.
"We didn't do anything to her," Roberson said. "She just lashed out at us, so this could happen to anybody else."
Rocco said she was acting in self-defense, a claim Roberson denied. Rocco also apologized for her behavior following a previous court appearance in January.
“I do 100 percent, from the bottom of my heart, regret saying that word. I’ve never in my life used that word. I have a very mixed family and I love them. I love everybody equally. I would never use that word again,” Rocco said.