Indian activists threaten Texas business with ruin and worse after owner speaks out about H-1B invasion

A small-business owner in North Texas is facing severe backlash and danger to his business after voicing concern over the rapid cultural shift that mass Indian immigration has brought to his city. The threats to his livelihood include a recent emailed extortion attempt.

Daniel Keene, who owns Boundaries Coffee — a local coffee shop with two locations in the DFW Metroplex — posted a video on X showing an entire street in his neighborhood blocked off for a block party celebrating an Indian festival. The video shows the street blocked off by cars and people. Keene captioned the video, “I want my kids to grow up in America, not India.”

The post went viral on X, and he has since received hundreds of threatening calls, texts, and emails.

'You must pay $20,000 or our games will BEGIN.'

The threats have turned into action, as his business has been targeted with hundreds of fraudulent negative reviews as well as calls insulting his employees and family. He is now fighting against a massive wave of insults, slanders, and racial animosity from people claiming to be Indian, both here and abroad.

Keene told Blaze News he was unprepared for the attack: “I was shocked by how rapid, and how intense, and how organized it was.” He has deleted the original video, saying the stress became too much for his family.

The hundreds of negative reviews on Google have been particularly damaging. Many reviews complained about a dirty lobby and bad conditions, even though both locations are drive-thru only.

"Review bombings," or large numbers of coordinated and often fraudulent negative reviews on platforms like Google Maps or Yelp, can be incredibly damaging to small businesses, which rely on these applications to bring in customers. Keene said he believes these reviews, complaints, and threats seemed to be carried out entirely by Indians — either in the U.S. or in India.

On September 8, things escalated when someone claiming to represent a network of millions of Indian-Americans in the United States sent an email that appears to be an attempt to extort Keene.

The email read, “We will blast your business and profiles to over 6 million Indian Americans in America. If they each write negative reviews it will ruin your business. We have all proof regarding this. You must pay $20,000 or our games will BEGIN. Let me know if your [sic] ready for instructions.”

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Photo courtesy of Daniel Keene

In addition to this apparent extortion, the coffee shop owner has received threats against himself and his family; profane messages about his wife, who is pregnant with their third child; and slanderous messages calling him a pedophile.

Comments on the shop’s various social media pages include accusations of racism but also comments about Keene burning in hell, his children, and other graphic insults. Other users took to X to attack Keene, insulting and taunting him as the attacks increased.

One influencer on X who goes by the name Sidharth took the occasion to mock Keene, writing, “I don't really think you can afford a home in that neighborhood,” and promising that “the day of reckoning is not far away.” Blaze News obtained screenshots of the post, which has since been deleted.

In response to a request for comment, Sidharth told Blaze News: "My comment would be to focus on the rapid xenophobia and sweeping generalizations against Indian Americans under the pretext of 'H-1B.'"

Despite the intensity of the attacks and the harm done to his business, Keene says he stands by his comments about Indian immigration. The post expressed what he says is a growing frustration among Texans about the economic and cultural impact that Indians settling in the area have had.

“I don’t have any racial animosity towards Indians,” Keene said. “I would never use racially charged language about somebody.” His issue is not with Indians as people, he says, but with the immigration policies that have changed the demographics of the city where he was born and raised.

“I just want to live on an American street. … As an American, I feel like that’s my right.”

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Photo by Mark Ralston / Contributor via Getty Images

Keene was born and raised in Southlake and grew up in the DFW Metroplex area. After going to school and spending time in Arkansas, he came back to find the demographics shifting from the massive influx of Indian immigrants, many of them on H-1B or other work visas. He says that his frustration is “the normal experience of an American who is getting pushed out.”

Native Texans have been almost entirely priced out of the neighborhood where he lives, so now it is “almost entirely Indian.” He says the cultural shift has been hard for his family: “They don’t like us; we don’t share anything in common with them.”

Despite his frustration and the threats he has received, Keene says he does not harbor animosity toward Indian people. Rather, he expressed his discontent with the policies that he says have resulted in these demographic and cultural changes. “I oppose the use of the H-1B visa, specifically in the DFW Metroplex.” He believes that these policies have changed the culture of the area and make life harder for the native population.

Keene says he has been frustrated and disheartened by the contrast between his native Texan friends and neighbors and this new influx of wealthy Indian immigrants. “I’m losing my neighbors, the Americans. These guys are getting driven out of the neighborhoods. … Pretty much anyone below 35 is struggling.”

“Every house I’ve ever looked at is Indian-owned," he continued. "… My home is Indian-owned. My street is Indian."

In addition to his home, he rents the two properties for his coffee shops, as well as a warehouse. All four properties are Indian-owned.

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Photo by Visual Capitalist / Contributor via Getty Images

Texas has received the second-most Indian immigrants of any state in the country, about 11%. Recent data shows that there are currently about 2.1 million Indians in the U.S. on visas, and the average household income for Indian immigrants is $166,200, compared to $77,600 for native-born American households, according to a 2023 study. India took in a total of $118.7 billion in remittances last year — the most of any country. Of that, $32.88 billion, or 27.7%, came from the United States.

Keene said that he has received support from friends and various voices online as word of the harassment campaign has spread. However, the negative publicity has made it much harder to continue growing his business.

The Little Elm Police Department and the Collin County District Attorney's Office did not respond to requests for comment. The India Association of North Texas requested that Blaze News direct inquiries via email. Emailed requests for comment have not been answered as of time of publication.

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