The New York couple who a Black fighter accused of throwing a racist party mocking Juneteenth claims their event was merely anti-liberal and not racist, per AP News.
On Tuesday (August 23), Rochester couple Nicholas Nicosia and Mary Znidarsic-Nicosia said their “Liberal Smashing Splish Splash Pool Party” was mischaracterized by the media and firefighter Jerrod Jones as a racist event.
The party previously made headlines after Jones filed a legal notice against the city of Rochester and the fire department, alleging he was pressured by his fire captain to attend the event that featured a display mocking Juneteenth.
The 14-year Rochester firefighter vet said he felt like he was in the movie Get Out when arriving at the Nicosias' party, which had Juneteenth flags displaying buckets of fried chicken.
During a press conference Tuesday, the Nicosias' lawyer said the family didn't have "a racist bone in their body."
The fried chicken displayed on Juneteenth flags wasn't intended to represent a racist trope but was simply a convenient food choice, the couple claimed as they denied allegations of racism.
However, Mary Znidarsic-Nicosia admitted to previously running an anonymous burner account on Twitter, where she posted racist images and content.
“I have made blatantly racist comments under that persona,” she said. “The culture of Twitter operates that way. It gives you an opportunity to be someone you’re not.”
Yet, Nicholas Nicosia maintained that the accusations against the couple were "false" and caused him to lose patients at his dental practice.
“We were tried and convicted on social media in a false narrative that was created,” he said.
Nate McMurray, Jones' attorney, said the Nicosias' comments at the press conference confirmed the events detailed in the firefighter's legal filing.
“We will use that press conference as evidence going forward,” McMurray said.
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