Family members arrested in rural Nevada over altercation that Black man says involved a racial slur

RENO, Nevada (AP) — Three members of a Nevada family have been arrested in connection with a verbal altercation last week in Virginia City, where a Black man from Texas said a racial slur was directed at him.

A 74-year-old man, his 67-year-old wife and their 45-year-old daughter were arrested Wednesday. They have posted bail and have been released from the Storey County Detention Center, Undersheriff Eric Kern told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Undersheriff Kern and a spokesperson for justice court in Virginia City both said Thursday that they didn’t know if family members had a lawyer. The AP has been successful in its efforts to locate the three since their names started circulating on social media Monday. No court date has been scheduled.

The man faces misdemeanor charges of noise violation and breach of peace, with the latter charge including an enhancement for committing a crime based on race. Kern did not share any details about what led authorities to add the racial enhancement, making it a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to a $2,000 fine and a year in jail.

The mother faces one count of battery and the daughter one count of obstructing or delaying a police officer. Those simple misdemeanors are punishable by fines of up to $1,000 and six months in jail.

After video of the incident spread on social media, Kern confirmed there was at least one act of vandalism in the form of “tagging” at local business and that deputies are investigating several threats to businesses and business owners in the community.

The incident occurred Friday when Ricky Johnson was collecting signatures for a ballot measure during a popular classic car festival in Virginia City, a tourist town just south of Reno.

Johnson began recording video after the alleged racist comments were directed at him. He said the man’s comments included a reference to a “hanging tree.”

In the video, Johnson demands that the man repeat those words. At no time on the video does that man utter any racial epithets. But at one point Johnson asks him the location of that “hanging tree,” and the man replies “in your backyard.”

A loud, profanity-filled argument followed before a woman told Johnson he was on her property. Johnson repeatedly asks her not to touch him as they move the conversation into the street, the video shows.

Johnson posted the video to TikTok, drawing prompt condemnation from local and state officials. The sheriff’s office interviewed Johnson and others involved, then turned over evidence to the district attorney.

Storey County Sheriff Mike Cullen announced the arrests in a news release Wednesday night. He said his office was “continuing to look at all the information presented and all information preceding the initial video recording and actions of all parties and witnesses leading up to the altercation.”

“Separate from this incident the Storey County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the state of Nevada is compiling the threatening and harassing phone calls that continue to come in to our community,” Cullen said.

The arrests drew quick praise from Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is Black.

“The public outcry was heard loud and clear, and steps have been taken to hold these individuals accountable for their racist and unlawful actions,” Ford said.

Johnson, who is from the Houston area, was in Virginia City working for Advanced Micro Targeting Inc., a Texas-based company that provides voter outreach and get-out-the-vote services. He was collecting signatures for a proposed Nevada state ballot initiative aimed at capping fees that attorneys collect from clients in personal injury cases.

After initially speaking with the AP by phone Monday before returning to Texas, Johnson has not responded to phone calls or texts seeking additional comment.

The verbal altercation occurred in downtown Virginia City, an old mining town that attracts tens of thousands of tourists who walk its wood-planked sidewalks filled with old saloons and stores.

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Kelety reported from Phoenix .