‘Reached Behind His Back Like He Had Something’: UAW Official Says Strikers Were Targeted By Man Who Yelled Racial Slurs Before Crowd Turned on Him Assuming He Had a Weapon

A viral video shows a group of strikers fighting a man they say spewed racial slurs at them. 

Footage obtained by Fox 2 Detroit shows multiple United Auto Workers get into a brawl with the man sporting a neon green shirt near the Stellantis Center Line plant in Detroit on Friday. The video was taken via helicopter cameras and has no audio. 

In the video, the man is seen tussling with the group for a few seconds before attempting to escape. While walking backward with his fists up, the man fell. 

Man Calls UAW Strikers N-word
The unidentified man, along with this wife, fought the strikers on Friday. He is calling of calling the UAW members the N-word. (Twitter/@phil_lewis_ via Fox 2 Detroit)

The group struck the man a few times before the fight was broken up by a bystander in a white t-shirt. It appears the man and the group have a brief back-and-forth before he is escorted to his vehicle. 

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When he opened the door, his female companion hopped out and started to attack the workers, who fought back with their signs. The man and woman eventually got into the vehicle and drove away. 

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.

According to the news station, a UAW official said the man used racially offensive language and threw things at them. He noted that the group was targeted and “not violent” or “instigating fights.” The man also reportedly moved as if he had a weapon in his possession. 

“He was yelling racial slurs calling people the B-word and the N-word,” Troy Rollins told the outlet. “Started throwing stuff at people, and then reached behind his back like he had something. And we got him on his way.”

None of the UAW members, who are striking for higher pay and benefits, were arrested, the outlet reported. People on social media were on the side of the workers and questioned the man’s actions. 

One user said, “Them ppl didn’t learn a thing from the Alabama incident,” referring to the viral summer clash at Montgomery Riverfront Park.

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