Gay Trump supporter goes on racist rant & calls police on Black Lyft driver in viral video

Shawn Pepas, a black Lyft driver, was verbally attacked for about 15 minutes after a man and his friends, who were in his vehicle, requested to play some music and Pepas refused.

When the driver did so, the man, who later identified himself as Robert Ortiz, called the police. Pepas pulled over and started recording the entire incident. One of the aspects that attracted more attention was that the driver remained admirably calm.

During the video uploaded to YouTube and Facebook, which became viral soon after that, Ortiz used the N-word, mocked Black Lives Matter, cursed Pepas, got into his personal space, and said that he voted for President Donald Trump.

In the phone conversation Ortiz had with the police, he said that he felt racially profiled because he was not black. He added that Pepas was “racist against gay people.” Ortiz’ friends kept making fun of the situation.

MAKING FUN OF HIS JOB

One of them, who appeared to be drunk, said that Pepas was just “a cab driver,” using expletive words to let him know that he was in trouble. Ortiz told the police that if Pepas tried to hurt him, he would have to defend himself, pointing out that he wouldn’t leave the vehicle until the police arrived.

GETTING FIRED

He later talked to Lyft to let them know the problem and that he would take them to court for all he had been through. Soon after the video went viral, Ortiz was fired from his job at City MD, but Pepas was also terminated from Lyft.

ASKING FOR HELP

The driver created a GoFundMe page to help with the missing wages. In it, he revealed that he had to call the police to express his “concerns and fear” of what will happen if he was not assisted.

Days after that, Pepas’ got his job back. Ortiz' situation is unknown. At the moment, Pepas has raised more than $46,000 of the GoFundMe page. The video contains strong language.

Even though such racist rants show nothing but all the negativity in today’s society, it is not the first time that something similar takes place. Edward Ruggiero, 58, was captured in video on the Long Island Railroad yelling and using racist language toward a 25-year-old Black woman.

The man appeared calling Soraya Orelien a “loud-mouthed monkey” and some other insults. He was later charged with a third-degree menacing as a hate crime and second-degree aggravated harassment. If convicted, the aggressive man could face up to a year in prison and/or a $1,000 fine, depending on the sentence.