Racist viral ‘gallows tree’ video sparks police investigation in Nevada

Nevada police are investigating after a black man shared a video in which he claims a white man called him racial slurs and talked to him about a “gallows tree.”

The viral footage begins with the white man smiling and making an obscene gesture at the black man, who has since been identified as Rick JohnsonJohnson asks where the supposed “hanging tree” is and the white man replies, “In your backyard.”

The video was filmed Friday outside the Firehouse Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada, during a classic car show called “Hot August Nights” … and Johnson says he was there registering people to vote.

Johnson continues to film the man, who asks him to leave. Johnson stands firm… and then his antagonist tells him: “I don’t make trash, I burn it.”

Bystanders try to calm the situation, but the two men continue to fight… and then a pair of women emerge from the room and try to take Johnson away.

He says to one of the women… “Your father just said there’s a gallows tree for black people like me. What does that mean?”

Johnson captioned the five-minute video: “Racism at its finest, Virginia City, Nevada.”

The Storey County Sheriff’s Office says they have received reports of the incident and have viewed the video and are investigating.

The Sheriff says… “We at the Sheriff’s Office do not tolerate or support racism, inequality or hate speech.”