JASON RANTZ

Rantz: Video shows Seattle-area teacher’s racist tirade against Black couple

Sep 8, 2020, 8:12 PM | Updated: Sep 9, 2020, 9:52 am

stefon lyons, teacher racist black trump supporters...

A substitute teacher from the Puyallup School District unleashes a torrent of racist slurs at black Trump supporters.

Video shows a local substitute teacher unleashing a torrent of racist slurs against a Black couple as they left the White House during the RNC Convention. The couple is now speaking out.

Last week, the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH broke the story of a district investigation into Stefon Lyons. Instagram video surfaced of Lyons referring to a Black couple “c**ns” and “Uncle Toms” because they are conservative. This was a video recap of the post-convention harassment, but not of the actual harassment itself. Lyons is currently inactive due to pandemic staffing, but the district said it is investigating after a community member lodged a complaint.

Lyons previously said the statement he made on Instagram wasn’t hateful. But footage from the actual event shows he wasn’t just hateful — he was rather vicious.

Teacher unloads in racist tirade

Lyons was in Washington D.C. for the RNC Convention, though not as a guest. He was there, in part, to apparently harass conservatives as they left the White House following President Trump’s speech.

Among the Trump supporters being harassed were DeJuan and Lexi Bell, a couple that happen to live in Puyallup. They were stunned by the vitriol coming from many in the crowd. Lyons did his part in making them feel unwelcome and unsafe, unleashing an absolute torrent of racist slurs at them.

In the video, recorded by DeJuan, Lyons can be seen shouting into a megaphone, calling DeJuan a “grown a** n***a,” “Uncle Tom” and a “c**n” several times. He called Lexi “Aunt Jemima.”

As DeJuan and his wife walked away, Lyons and the mob followed. Lyons, still with the megaphone, shouted “Masta Trump” towards DeJuan. The scene was frightening.

“I was ready for war. I was ready for the worst,” Lexi told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. “I was preparing myself for the words I honestly felt like my life could potentially be in danger. I felt like they could have just shot me if they want. I felt like they had weapons on them. Like, I felt like they wanted to do all those things. I really felt like they wanted to see me dead.”

The mob was violent that night. They assaulted police officers and threatened Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) who told FOX News had it not been for police protection for saving his life.

The couple speaks

The Bells are unapologetic in their support for President Trump. And they were on cloud nine to attend the convention.

“It was something to behold, to say the least. I mean, we had such an awesome night at the convention listening to the president. It was just a majestic feeling in the air… it was just wonderful,” DeJuan tells the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

But when he and his wife stepped outside, it was decidedly different.

“All of a sudden, I’m on guard and I’m looking around,” he said. “If I’m gonna have to protect my wife and myself from a physical assault is literally what I felt. It was crazy.”

To their credit, DeJuan and Lexi spoke to the few activists who were open to a conversation, despite the hostile environment. Lyons wasn’t one of them.

“He didn’t want to talk, he didn’t want to come to some kind of civility at all. He just wanted to shout insults, he wanted to call us names, he wanted to disrespect us,” DeJuan explained. “He wanted to make us feel very berated and bad for attending this event. We’re just showing our support for the president of this country that we’re both citizens of, who we just happen to love.”

Unlike Lyons, the Bells spent lots of time aiming for civil dialogue. Lexi said they spent almost two hours talking.

Lyons says he’s not a teacher anyway

After the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH broke the story, the Tacoma News Tribune picked it up but couldn’t reach Lyons. Since then, the substitute teacher and activist emailed KTTH and TNT.

Lyons wanted to clarify that he was simply “a part-time emergency sub on a volunteer basis last year, and coached basketball.” He said he doesn’t plan on teaching this year.

Based on the response from listeners and readers in the school district, Lyons wouldn’t be welcome. A number of parents in Puyallup have contacted the show seeking more information, disgusted by his bigotry. They don’t want him teaching their kids.

Since Lyons claimed his Instagram video, post-harassment, wasn’t intended as hateful, I emailed him to ask how he would characterize the racial slurs he yelled at the Bells. He hasn’t yet responded.

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow @JasonRantz on Twitter and Instagram or like me on Facebook

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