A man who was caught on camera launching into a racist outburst in a Pennsylvania town is stoking local outrage over the incident.
The video of the tirade was filmed in the town of York and began circulating online earlier this week after being posted by a newly created X account called @YorkpaRacist.
It shows local restaurant owner Jonathan Spanos admitting he’s a racist and repeatedly shouting the N-word at a motorist during a verbal altercation.
Spanos can be heard in the 40-second clip yelling, “Your half n— brother,” multiple times, and saying, “I am a racist.”
The X profile the video was published on claimed that the rant began after an alleged road rage incident. It also alleges that Spanos committed assault. A man with direct knowledge of what happened spoke to the York Daily Record on the condition of anonymity and stated the incident occurred in mid-October.
Spanos served on the college advisory board at the York campus of Penn State. After it was alleged that he was the aggressor in the video, a Penn State York spokesperson said the college “was looking into this matter with urgency.”
The day after issuing the statement, the university released that Spanos was no longer a board member. A spokesperson told local news outlets that he resigned.
“This hateful language has no place in our community and is not reflective of the University’s values or our desire to foster an inclusive environment,” a university spokesperson wrote in the comments of the X post.
One advisory board member called the behavior “inexcusable” and “hateful.”
According to the college’s website, Spanos, a Penn State grad, was the commencement speaker for Penn State York’s fall 2014 class. He endowed the J. Spanos Family Trustee Scholarship in honor of family members who are also Penn State alumni. He’s the third-generation owner of the Paddock Restaurant on Market. The restaurant’s Facebook page was either set to private or deactivated in recent days following the video’s circulation.
The local NAACP branch released a statement condemning the video, calling for Spanos to step down from any leadership positions and business associations, and demanding Penn State York to facilitate open forums about racism in the York community and conduct an institutional review of its advisory board members to ensure their commitment to diversity and inclusion.
“Such behavior is malicious and stands in stark contrast to the values of equality and respect that our community strives to uphold,” the statement reads. “The emotional trauma that this video ignites for African Americans is deplorable. The use of this demeaning term is not only offensive but also perpetuates the systemic racism that the NAACP has fought against for over a century. It is particularly concerning when such language comes from individuals in positions of influence and authority within our educational institutions and business communities.”
