A DISTURBING argument between a Black man and a group of white people at a large summer event in Nevada has been caught on video.
The clip shows a Black man yelling at a white man for allegedly telling him to find the “hanging tree” and then laughing before the Black man is ushered off the property.
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The altercation occurred earlier this weekend at a Hot August Nights event in Virginia City, Nevada, located about 35 minutes outside of Reno.
TikTok user Uncle Ricky (@unclerickyd1), the Black man in the video, shared the upsetting viral clip that has already been viewed over 650,000 times.
At the start of the video, Uncle Ricky can be heard asking the white man in a black t-shirt to repeat what he had said about “where the hanging tree is at.”
“In your backyard,” the white man responds, balling his hands into fists.
It appears a white woman tries to tell the white man that she agrees with Uncle Ricky, but she is ignored and pushed aside.
The white man soon sits back down into a folding chair set up on the sidewalk before two other white women exit the nearest shop to encourage Uncle Ricky to leave the sidewalk and the sitting men due to the commotion.
The younger woman can be heard saying that the white man is her father, while the older woman tries telling Uncle Ricky to calm down and go away.
After the clip went viral, internet sleuths claimed to have identified the white man and older woman as a couple from the nearby town of Minden, according to local news site The is Reno.
City officials quickly posted a response to the video condemning the behavior.
“Earlier this weekend, an incident occurred in which individuals were harassed during an event, and comments were made that were hateful and racist,” officials wrote on the social media platform X.
“We want to make it clear on behalf of the Virginia City Tourism Commission that we find this behavior abhorrent and inexcusable.”
“Virginia City is an incredible historic town with vibrant events and a welcoming atmosphere. We stand wholly against any acts of hatred, racism, or violence,” representatives added.
“Virginia City is proud to be a town that invites all individuals, and we are working closely with our merchants and event partners to create a community that is inclusive and open to all.”
According to the event’s history page, Hot August Nights is an annual celebration that started in 1986 to revitalize the small mining town during the slow and steamy month of August.
Over the last forty years, the event has ballooned into a popular community gathering that attracts thousands of spectators and includes dozens of activities organized by area businesses, artists, and others.
The alleged owners of Virginia City’s Firehouse Saloon, the business where the argument occurred, said they were not “affiliated” with the people in the video.
But one of the women in the clip is wearing a shirt bearing the company’s name.
Local reporters report that since the video went viral, the owners have received a “firestorm” of comments online.
In a follow-up video on TikTok, Uncle Ricky thanked people for supporting him and said he was working in Virginia City when the “hurtful” incident occurred.
Thousands of people have since posted comments denouncing the argument and racism in general, comparing the argument to a scene from a horror flick.
“It’s like something out of a horror movie when they all come out and surround him with smiles on their faces and the high-pitched, overly sweet voices. I hope he gets justice and they get jail time,” one person commented on TikTok.
“I felt like I was watching a horror movie. This is the scariest thing I’ve ever seen,” a second added.
Several people said they felt fear after watching the clip.
“I’m Mexican looking at a screen & I’m hyperventilating I’m so sorry. I cannot imagine the feeling,” one person wrote.
“They were like a mob. This was so scary. I am so sorry you went through this. I wish I was there to cuss them out with you!!” another posted.
A request for comment from The U.S. Sun was not immediately addressed by Uncle Ricky or the organizers of the Hot August Nights event.
The white man and women accused of racism in the video could not be reached for comment by The U.S. Sun.
A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.
Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.
What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.
The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.
So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.
I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.
Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.
Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.
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Las Vegas High’s baseball team claimed a 3-2 home win over Coronado on Friday.
Las Vegas (9-13-1) next hosts Rancho at 10 a.m. Saturday. Coronado (13-14) hosts Chaparral at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada’s jobless rate is holding steady, but the state is still adding jobs.
A new report from DETR shows February’s unemployment rate unchanged at 5.3 percent, with the labor force growing by nearly 3,800 people.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada unemployment rate rises to 5.3% in January
Nevada now has about 1.6 million nonfarm jobs, up 2.2 percent over the past year and 1,500 more jobs than in January.
“This month’s report shows a strengthening labor market,” said David Schmidt, Chief Economist. ”Compared to the report for January, the pace of job gains in the past year increased from 1.9% to 2.2%, building on what was already the fastest pace of job growth in the country. While the unemployment rate remained stable, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.7%, 1.7 percentage points higher than the national level.”
In Las Vegas, employment ticked up by 1,100 jobs in February, about 0.1 percent, and is up more than 25,000 jobs compared to last year.
Reno added 1,000 jobs on the month, while Carson City shed about 200 but is still slightly above where it was a year ago.
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