Police in Nevada are investigating a video shared by a black man who claims a white man called him a racial slur and told him there was a “hanging tree.”
The video, later identified as a white man smiling and getting angry at a black man, went viral on the Internet. Rick Johnson. Johnson asked where the so-called “hanging tree” was, and the white man shot back: “In your backyard.”
The footage was filmed on Friday outside a firehouse bar in Virginia City, Nevada, during a classic car show called “Hot August Nights” … where Johnson said he was registering to vote.
Johnson continued to film the man, who asked him to leave. Johnson stood his ground … and then his opponent told him, “I don’t make trash, I burn it.”
Bystanders tried to deescalate the situation, but the two men continued to struggle… and then several women came out of the bar and tried to take Johnson away.
He told one of the women… “Your dad just said people like me have a hanging tree. What does that mean?”
Johnson captioned the 5-minute video… “Racism reaches its peak in Virginia City, Nevada.”
The Storey County Sheriff’s Office said it has received reports of the incident and viewed the video and is investigating.
The Sheriff said… “Our Sheriff’s Office does not condone or support racism, inequality or hate speech.”
Meanwhile, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford Said he was “aware of the hateful, racist incidents that occurred in Virginia City, one of Nevada’s most prominent towns…I completely condemn their actions.”
