What happened at Hot August Nights? Virginia city alleged racist incident sparks backlash as TikTok video goes viral 

A video capturing an interaction between a group of Caucasian people and a Black man at a Hot August Nights event in Virginia City, Nevada, has gone viral across social media platforms. In it, the latter alleged that the group was being racist towards him on August 2, 2024. Netizens have since taken to the internet to react to the incident.

Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of racism. Reader discretion is advised.

The video in question was originally posted by TikTok user Unclerickyd1. News outlet The Shade Room revealed that the TikTok user, whose real name is reportedly Dayone Johnson, was out and about collecting signatures for his petition, which aimed to reduce attorney fees in Nevada.

While collecting signatures, Johnson stopped at a Hot August Nights event, where he was met with allegedly racist comments. In the video, he alleged that an unidentified Caucasian man in a black t-shirt told him that there was a “hanging tree” for people like him.

A group of other men seemingly showed him support and verbally abused Johnson. Later on, the man in the black t-shirt also told Johnson, “I don’t make trash I burn it.”

As the video progressed, two women approached Johnson and escorted him out of their property and the Hot August Nights event.

The video had garnered millions of views online at the time of writing this article. Internet users were stunned by the racist incident and expressed rage online. Some reactions read:

“This is despicable; these people should be ashamed of themselves,” one X user said.

“Imagine the days before camera phones. The woman would’ve accused him of attacking her, just like Black Wallstreet,” another internet user said.

“They wouldn’t try this s**t if he wasn’t outnumbered,” a platform user said.

Several netizens extended support to Dayone Johnson across social media platforms. Other comments read:

“This is absolutely horrendous,” an internet user said.

“Gawd, this hurts my heart,” another netizen said.

“It’s crazy what people have to go through. The old racists are a disgrace to modern society,” a platform user said.

Internet sleuths have since taken to finding the identities of the Caucasian people involved in the viral video. Meanwhile, other reactions read:

“This was truly horrible to watch. Like many others, this made me feel physically ill. Racists clutching with their fingernails to the final remnants of their perceived status. And, the MAGA hat making an appearance - as we all knew it would,” a netizen said.

“Smh a bunch of damn demons. I see nothing but evil. I bet you they are “Christians” too,” another internet user said.

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Hot August Nights releases statement as racist video goes viral online

Hot August Nights released a statement condemning the incident. They stated that an “intolerable” incident occurred during their Virginia City event. They added:

“It wasn’t representative of our classic car culture and our organization does not condone nor support racism or hate speech. Storey County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.”

The Storey County Sheriff’s Office also responded in an official statement. They stated that they “do not condone or support racism, inequality, or hate speech.” They went on to state that “a case has been pulled regarding this incident and is being investigated.”

Johnson also took to his TikTok account later on to reveal that he was the only Black person at the event, and nobody else came to help him as he was being hounded by the racist group.

He went on to thank his online supporters and a woman named Tiana who came to help him at the Hot August Nights event.

Followers of the story now wait to see if any action will be taken against the racist individuals.