A St. John's University student threatened to smash a fellow student's laptop because it displayed a Donald Trump campaign sticker — and now the victim apparently fears for her safety.
The student who made the threat — Clifford Durand, 18, according to the New York Daily News[1] — posted a photo of the student and her laptop affixed with a "Trump: Make America Great Again" sticker during what appeared to be a class Wednesday morning.
The post from the now-suspended account read, "7000 retweets and i'll smash this b***h's computer." The Daily News reported the post was retweeted 16,000 times within four hours — although Durand's friends claimed it was a joke.
It doesn't appear to have been funny to the subject of the tweet, 20-year-old Brianna Algazali, who learned of the viral post, took up the matter with St. John's public safety and then confronted Durand, the paper said, apparently in a coffee shop.
Image source: Twitter via New York Daily News
"She raised her voice and she threw her drink on him," one of Durand's friends told the Daily News. "He looked like he was in shock. I went towards him to hold him back."
Image source: Facebook via New York Daily News
That reportedly wasn't enough, as Durand allegedly struck Algazali after getting soaked — and later bragged about it: "SHE THREW HER STARBUCKS AT ME AFTER CUSSING ME OUT AND SHE GOT SHOVED IN THE NECK," Durand tweeted, the Daily News said.
Algazali later said that "I fear for my safety," according to the paper.
Here's what else Durand apparently posted regarding the situation before his account was suspended:
Image source: Twitter via the Daily Mail
Image source: Twitter via the Daily Mail
St. John's noted on Twitter that it's handling the situation:
Thank you everyone who reported the incident to us. This type of behavior will not be tolerated. Public Safety is handling the situation.
— St John's University (@StJohnsU) February 10, 2016[2]
We hear your concerns. Safety is our top priority. Any student in violation of our Code of Conduct is subject to our conduct process.
— St John's University (@StJohnsU) February 10, 2016[3]
But the New York City school has been savaged by replies accusing it of sweeping the situation under the rug and calling for Durand's expulsion:
Image source: Twitter
One reply contained a brief clip titled "THE BRO IS FREE!!!!" apparently of Durand walking away from a building while his friends yelled. One was heard saying, "Yeah, Cliff, they can't f***in' hold you, bro!"
Here's the clip. (Content warning: Rough language):
THE BRO IS FREE!!!! pic.twitter.com/Uo6U1DVSDW[4]
— Chris (@csm00vee) February 10, 2016[5]
The Twitter user who posted the video claimed the he saw the incident regarding the laptop and that it was caught by school security cameras and that it was a joke:
Crazy how a joke can shed light on how prevalent racism still is in our generation #freecliff[6]
— Chris (@csm00vee) February 10, 2016[7]
References
- ^ New York Daily News (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ February 10, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ February 10, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ pic.twitter.com/Uo6U1DVSDW (t.co)
- ^ February 10, 2016 (twitter.com)
- ^ #freecliff (twitter.com)
- ^ February 10, 2016 (twitter.com)
