21-year-old Nebraska man Austin J. Cordis has claimed that his pickup truck featuring a racial slur on it was done by vandals, although witnesses say otherwise. The man's White Chevrolet pickup featured the words "Trump 2020," and right above it, "Fuck the n****rs." He's maintained that it was done by vandals while he was in the Gateway Mall for "about 20 minutes," but a Lincoln mother says she saw him pull up to the mall with the slur already on his truck.
As the Omaha World-Herald reports, a photo of his truck driving through Lincoln started to circulate on social media over the weekend. Among those to chime in were former NBA player Rex Chapman and Lincoln's mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, who called the situation "horrific." Through the picture, Twitter users were able to track down who owned the truck due to the Fillmore County plates.
Cordis has claimed that when he came out of the mall on Saturday, he came back to see the message written on his truck. He claimed that there were other vehicles in the parking lot that had been "marked up." He claimed that "it's something someone else did." He added that he washed it off, because he thought it was "stupid."
Lincoln resident Brittany Struble said she saw Cordis pull up to the mall with the statement on his truck already, and her and her friend took a picture of him as he leaned out the truck. Struble added that when he realized they had taken photos, he looked at them and continually asked them "What?" She said that he didn't go into the mall, either, but simply left the scene after she confronted him. "He knew what we were asking about because I was taking a picture of it," she said. "He was smiling the whole time."
Danny Reitan of the Lincoln Police department said that there were no reports of vandalized vehicles on Saturday, placing doubt on Cordis' claims. There were, however, multiple reports of the truck and its offensive message. Cordis said that as the photo circulated social media, he has received threats. The world's smallest violin is surely getting a lot of work from his sob story.
The mother of Cordis' child has also received death threats, although she has stressed that they are no longer together and he does not live where she lives. In a very telling comment from Cordis, who is currently awaiting trial on felony charges of operating a marijuana growing operation and possession of a firearm, said that he is "not a racist" and "all lives matter." He also maintained that he doesn't even vote.
Sure buddy, sure.
