Caught on camera: Man goes on minutes-long racist rant against utility workers in Raleigh neighborhood

Raleigh police say no charges will be filed against a man who went on a racist tirade in a north Raleigh neighborhood.

2024-11-14

Cellphone video of the incident has received a lot of attention online in recent weeks. In the nearly four-minute video, the man yells racist insults at utility workers and even swings a shovel at them.

The video, seemingly captured by one of the workers, has a caption in Spanish that translates to: "The way we're treated while we earn an honest living."

Raleigh police told WRAL Investigates that "after investigating the incident and speaking with all parties involved, it has been determined that no crime occurred."

WRAL Investigates then asked for clarity on why the incident did not constitute the crime of "communicating threats" or "ethnic intimidation," but Raleigh police did not respond.

Durham-based attorney Daniel Meier, who does not have any connection to this case, agreed with the police department's conclusion.

"The First Amendment allows you to basically say your piece," he said. "You can say what you want. You can be as offensive as you want to be frankly ... You can't yell fire in a movie theater, you can't threaten to hurt people. But you can be a racist. You can be obnoxious. You can do any of that you want unfortunately. Or fortunately. That's free speech."

WRAL Investigates spoke with Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, president and CEO of El CentroHispano, for her perspective on the disturbing video.

"I'm worried," she said. "I'm worried about me, my kids, our community, our staff at El CentroHispano, everybody."

Rocha-Goldberg said her fears about the safety of the Hispanic community are heightened because of the divisiveness of society right now.

"We are a part of the fabric of the community," she said. "So, somebody saying all these things with so much hate is really sad."

James Slevin, national president for the Utility Workers Union of America, said unfortunately both verbal and physical assaults on utility workers are common.

"People come to work to make a living, not to get verbally or physically abused from anybody," he said.

In some states, Slevin said it's a felony to assault a utility worker. That is not the case, he says, in North Carolina.

WRAL Investigates is not naming the man in the video, since he has not been criminally charged. WRAL Investigates tried to reach him by phone and by mail, and has not heard back.

It's not clear who the utility workers are, or for whom they were performing work.

Rocha-Goldberg said, in situations like what happened to them, if victims do not feel comfortable going to law enforcement, they can come to El Centro for support and guidance.

"This is not right," she said of the incident. "We are not going to tolerate this. We are going to come together and support each other as a community."