A white woman embroiled in a controversy over a Juneteenth party, where several racist tropes were reportedly on display, admits that she posted racist tweets on Twitter.
Dr. Nicholas Nicosia and his wife, Mary Znidarsic-Nicosia, residents of Rochester, New York, have been under fire since the July 7 pool party they co-hosted was attended by Black firefighter Jerrod Jones and his co-workers. Jones alleges in a legal notice with the State Supreme Court that he saw, at the Nicosia party, buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken near two Juneteenth flags, “an apparent use of a racist trope recycled by bigots to mock Black Americans.”
But at a press conference on Tuesday, the couple’s attorney said the party wasn’t racist but instead anti-liberal, according to CBS News.
Znidarsic-Nicosia flatly said, “I am not racist,” and her husband added: “The only thing I hate more than racism are false racist allegations,” according to Spectrum News One.
Jones, in his filing, says he’s the victim of discrimination and a hostile work environment. He seeks $3 million for emotional distress, $1 million in compensatory damages and a jury trial.
According to the filing, Jones — a 14-year veteran of the fire department — said his captain forced him and two co-workers to attend the party while on duty. Jones said he became uncomfortable when he saw a large cut-out of Donald Trump, then reported seeing the flags and the chicken.
Jones also alleges he saw pictures of local democratic politicians in the backyard. His lawsuit notes it’s against department rules to attend partisan political events.
Jones, according to the lawsuit, is currently on leave.
At this week’s news conference, Znidarsic-Nicosia acknowledged the anonymous Twitter account, for which she apologized.
“I have made blatantly racist comments under that persona,” she said, as reported by CBS. “The culture of Twitter operates that way. It gives you an opportunity to be someone you’re not.”
The couple says they’ve been badly harmed by the incident and the allegations they face.
Nicosias, a dentist, resigned from the Highland Hospital board of directors. He was the team dentist for the minor league ice hockey team, the Rochester Americans. But according to WROC-TV, the team cut ties with him, saying, “We do not tolerate racism in any form, and it has no place in our world.”
The architectural group The Landmark Society of Western New York, in a tweet, said it suspended Znidarsic-Nicosia from its board of directors.
The fire captain who took his crew to the party, Jeffrey Krywy, retired instead of facing termination for his actions, according to WROC-TV.
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