A Black grandmother in Biloxi, Mississippi was the victim of a racist road rage incident and managed to record the disturbing episode on camera. Neco Eley was driving down U.S. 90 on her way to a doctor’s appointment with her 6-year-old son when a white man in a silver Mercedes-Benz started driving erratically near her.
Worried that the man would crash, Eley started filming with her phone out of her car window. Once directly behind Eley, he started to scream and threaten her with racist stereotypes and slurs. He told her to go “back to Africa” and that he “should take [her] out that car and beat [her] with a tire iron.”
He also said that if a child wasn’t in the car with Eley he would “snatch” her phone and “smash” it. The harassment lasted for almost six minutes before the man gave her the middle finger and pulled off. Following the exchange, Eley told the Sun Herald that she has had trouble falling asleep.
“This man really hates Black people that much?” she remarked to the outlet. The man seen on the tape has not been arrested; Biloxi Police confirmed Tuesday that a judge did not issue an arrest warrant on the simple assault charge Eley filed last week. However, she still plans to press forward.
Biloxi Council member Felix Gines said the language heard in the footage “goes against our country” and that the perpetrator “doesn’t need the privilege of driving on our roads.” Gines added: “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen anything like that in Biloxi and we want to keep it that way.”
Biloxi Police Captain Grandver Everett said his team believes the law was broken and said they will help Eley with any additional charges she may file. Everett also stated that Eley’s case may lead to a disturbing the peace charge, which is classified as a misdemeanor that includes a $500 fine or up to six months in county jail.
Simple assault, which is the charge that Eley filed, has the same penalties.