Police arrested a white man with a faulty understanding of American history for hurling racial slurs and threats at a black man in Washington state.
Photographer Keoke Silvano encountered the incident during a walk and immediately pulled out his phone. Silvano, who is Filipino, figured the video could come in handy, reports ABC 13.
“Just as a photographer, my instinct is to document. So I pulled out my cell phone and started recording,” Silvano said. “The main thing is if something happened either to myself or the gentleman sitting here, I would have some sort of living document of what was happening.”
In the video, the white man, Steven Jay Watts, can be seen standing on a sidewalk yelling at an unidentified black man.
The tirade continued even after Watts realized Silvano was filming.
“No cameras, n****r,” Watts said to Silvano. “I run this country!”
In the video, the encounter continues to escalate after Watts threatens the black man.
“Put your hands on me, n****r,” he shouted. “I run this country, you guys are dead.”
“I ain’t gonna put my hands on — I’m gonna kill your b***h ass,” the black man replied.
“You’re going to kill me? Come on, n****r,” Watts shot back.
When two other white men intervene, Watts turned his attention toward them.
“You running with these n****rs?” Watts asked. “Get the f**k out of my face, you running with these n****rs?”
“You get out of this neighborhood, you’re in the wrong neighborhood,” the other men reply.
Watts’ response was proof America’s school system is failing its students.
“Wrong neighborhood? White people are going to bury you,” he yelled, loud and wrong. “We built these streets! White men built these streets!”
Watts was later arrested and charged with harassment and obstruction. During his court appearance, the judge mentioned Watts’ extensive criminal history, which includes four assault charges. He pleaded not guilty and dropped a bucket of white tears.
“I'm getting harassed everywhere I go in this country. Everywhere in this country I get harassed," Watts told the judge.
According to KIRO-7, Watts is being held on a $10,000 bond, and his next court date is June 25.
The video can be viewed here.
