A white man at a public event in Nevada told a black man filming him that there was a ‘hanging tree’ in his backyard.
The men were attending the August 2nd ‘Hot August Nights’ in Virginia City, a day-long tribute to classic cars in the city just outside Reno.
The man filming, who later uploaded the video to his TikTok account titled ‘unclerickyd1‘ and was identified by local news reports as Rick Johnson, starts with an agitated voice suggesting they had already begun provoking one another.
‘Keep talking. And where’s the tree at to hang people at? Where is that? Where is the hanging tree at?’
The aggressor, whose identity has yet to be revealed, flips him off with both middle fingers and responds: ‘In your backyard’.
A white man at a public event in Nevada told a black man filming him that there was a ‘hanging tree’ in his backyard
The black man, who later uploaded the video to his TikTok account titled ‘unclerickyd1’ and was identified by local news reports as Rick Johnson, starts with an agitated voice suggesting they had already begun provoking one another
He then tries to get Johnson to leave, to which Johnson snaps back: ‘Make me leave’.
The instigator then begins to laugh at him and sits down with another man, saying: ‘I don’t make trash, I burn it’.
A woman then tries to get Johnson to vacate the premises, attempting to get him off the sidewalk.
She tries to be nice to Johnson as she shoos him, saying ‘Jesus loves you’ and that Johnson is ‘my brother’.
Johnson is not interested, saying back: ‘You’re steady touching me, ma’am. This is assault’.
He then starts talking to another woman – who Johnson suggests is the aggressor’s daughter – and explains the full backstory from his perspective, saying the man and his friend ‘ganged up’ on him.
‘Your dad just said there’s a hanging tree for n****** like me. What does that mean? And I did not disrespect your dad. I asked him nicely, ‘Excuse me sir, are you a registered voter?’ He said ‘No,’ I said, ‘Thank you,’ then he turned around and said, ‘There’s a hanging tree down the road for n****** like me.’
Johnson then starts to cry, asking: ‘Ya’ll are going to allow this s*** to happen, like nobody cares?’
The white man, whose identity has yet to be revealed, flips him off with both middle fingers and responds that there’s a hanging tree ‘In your backyard’
He later uploaded the video – which has been viewed over 100,000 times on TikTok – with the caption: ‘This is what I had to go [through] today!! I’ve never felt so humiliat[ed] and disrespected in my life.’
Later in the clip, the instigator can be heard saying, ‘I’m going to be on the 5 o’clock news’.
A spokesperson for Hot August Nights said in a social media post that ‘the individuals featured in the video’ have had their registrations revoked.
‘We want to clarify that there were no Hot August Nights representatives, volunteers, or staff present in the video or involved in the situation. The individuals wearing Hot August Nights badges are event participants.’
Johnson later posted a response video thanking people for their support over the incident.
The aggressor has yet to be identified and it’s unclear if he faces any charges related to the incident but the Stoney County Sheriff’s Office has stated that it’s a ‘concerning incident’ and under investigation.
The Nevada Attorney General’s Office has said in a statement that it will provide local authorities with assistance.
