In today’s “That’s What Your Ass Gets” news, a white man claiming to be a lawyer who graduated from the New York University School of Law found himself ejected by his fellow passengers after he went on a racist tirade on a New York City subway train over the weekend, and the incident was caught on video for our viewing pleasure.
According to Gothamist, the incident occurred on a Brooklyn-bound L train Saturday around 2 p.m., and a witness said the incident began after the man had a “spat about personal space” with a group of young black men.
The video, which reportedly picks up a few seconds after the man shouted “stupid nigger” at the group of young men, shows him clutching a can of Bud Light Lime-a-Rita and repeatedly yelling the n-word. He tells his fellow passengers, “I can talk shit because I know I can because I’m a lawyer. I went to NYU Law! Fuck you!”
As other passengers confront him about his use of the racial slur, he yells, “First Amendment! First Amendment!” then continues yelling the n-word repeatedly.
He grows more belligerent as more passengers confront him. When the train reaches the Bedford Avenue stop, he is pushed through the doors and appears to fall backward onto the platform. One passenger throws a cup of what appears to be soup at him.
He makes multiple attempts to re-enter the train car, but passengers standing near the doors block his way and repeatedly push him back off.
Joshua Pyne, who witnessed the incident, told Gothamist: “Understandably, this woman of color and a couple other folks as you can see in the video, call the guy out. This guy starts caterwauling about his First Amendment rights and whatnot. The guy didn’t seem to be falling-down drunk, but was ... clearly belligerent.”
Pyne said the woman who can be heard confronting the man broke down after the man exited the train. She was comforted by another passenger who had interceded.
While there were reports that a police officer was at the Bedford Avenue stop when the train pulled away, the New York City Police Department said that there was no record of anyone who matched the man’s description being arrested at that station.
Read more at Gothamist.