A South Florida woman has been sacked from her real estate job after she was seen on video berating a group of Black teens in a racially charged confrontation over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
On Tuesday, Insignia International Properties announced it had parted ways with the six-year employee.
“Insignia International Properties does not tolerate discrimination,” the company posted on its Facebook page. “Dana Scalione is no longer affiliated with this organization.”
She had been with the company since 2013, according to a separate post.
Scalione’s firing comes after viral video of her yelling and cursing the teenagers, who were blocking her car from passing Brickell Avenue as they participated in an annual MLK Jr. Day event. The teens, who are members of local activist group Dream Defenders, were there protesting the redevelopment of an affordable housing complex when the squabble unfolded.
In the video, Scalione is heard accusing one of the boys of running over her foot with his bicycle, and a shouting match ensues.
“Don’t you touch me, you bunch of thugs,” she yells as she storms away from the group. The teens shout obscenities back at her.
That’s when Scalione’s boyfriend, 51-year-old Mark Bartlett, runs over to confront the teens — with a pistol in hand. He starts hurling racial slurs and obscenities at the group, demanding that they leave the area.
“Get out of here you piece of s–t,” Bartlett shouts at one of the teens, before twice using the n-word. “Get the f–k outta here … f–king stupid n—–s! F–king dumb ass n—–s.”
In a separate video taken before the squabble, Bartlett is heard screaming “n—–s suck!” from his car as a Black protester walks with a sign that read “Preserve affordable housing.”
The Hollywood, Fla., man hopped back in his car and drove away but was arrested a short time later on a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon. Police said Bartlett didn’t have a concealed carry permit for the gun, which was loaded and resting on the front passenger seat of his SUV.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office announced Tuesday that the incident is now being investigated as a hate crime. Scalione isn’t facing charges, however, and claims racial slurs were hurled from both sides.
“I was called a white a– first. Nobody calls them racist,” she told Local 10 News earlier this week. “I was called a b—-. Nobody says they hate women.”
Bartlett, also spoke the news station and defended his actions, saying the only thing he regrets is not having a concealed carry license.
“All I see is 15 people running across the street toward my girlfriend — over the median, toward my girlfriend,” he said. “I’m running to see and to protect my family. I had a gun though. It wasn’t loaded. I ran out there. You can see I never pointed it. I never threatened anybody. I just needed it in case something were to happen.”
The man later tried rationalizing his use of the N-word, saying the only reason he still uses it is because “Black people are the only ones who continue to say it.”
The incident sparked angry reactions across social media, the backlash soon spilling over to Insignia’s Facebook page.
“Quite a few people have been screaming at me as if I just hired Ms. Scalione and that’s not the case,” a post on the Facebook page read. “She started with Insignia in 2012-2013. I respect everyone is angry but, just as multiple people have commented, I was not there and those are not my opinions. So if people would refrain from physical threats it would be appreciated. Because that makes all of us no better than the people that hate.
It continued: “We have to start respecting and loving one another. We are all human beings no matter of color, religion and beliefs.”
