Greenwich Man Arrested After 'Racist' Rant At University: Report

GREENWICH, CT — Police said a Greenwich man accused of going on an alcohol-fueled "racist and homophobic" rant in a classroom at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., was arrested this week, according to the Greenwich Time.

The Greenwich Time reports Dayton Kingery, 21, a Brunswick School alum, was charged with vandalism due to accusations that he destroyed another student's computer, Orange Police said. He was also charged with resisting arrest, making criminal threats and elder abuse, police said.

The incident was recorded in a cellphone video that went viral on social media. In the video, a student is heard using racist and homophobic language, and claims he has "been drinking [rum] all day."

Classmates in the video can be heard telling the student to quiet down and to leave the classroom. Later, the student says he is "worth $50 million" before a group of his classmates eject him from the room.

When the student is given the wrong backpack, he is seen throwing the backpack and jumping on top of it, then telling a student he hopes their laptop was in it.

The video can be viewed here. (WARNING: This video contains explicit and offensive language.)

Jim Kingery, the accused's father, told the Greenwich Time his son "is a great kid" and they are currently focused on getting his son "the help he needs."

In a statement released on the Chapman University Facebook page Tuesday, the school's president, Daniele Struppa, referred to the incident as a "disruption" that included "racist and homophobic statements, along with "inappropriate and disrespectful" behavior.

"While I cannot go into detail on a student matter, I want to be clear that appropriate legal and disciplinary processes are being implemented," Struppa said in the prepared statement. "We are also taking strong interim action to ensure the safety of the classroom involved as well as campus housing. I also want to extend my deepest apologies to the Black and LGBTQIA communities who were specifically targeted during today's incident. This type of behavior is absolutely not tolerated. Together, we must create a safe environment for all students, faculty and staff. Each one of us is equally responsible and accountable for a campus climate that respects our differences and celebrates our diversity."

Struppa later updated the post with more information, including that "the individual responsible for this incident" was no longer a student at the university.

"We have had a difficult start to this semester with the student incident that took place in a classroom on Tuesday," Struppa said in the updated statement. "Racist and homophobic conduct will not be tolerated on this campus and we took decisive and swift action...I want to thank Public Safety, Student Affairs, Orange Police Department and all those involved in working through this challenging situation. You worked tirelessly to keep our campus safe and uphold the values we hold dear. We will soon be communicating additional resources available to you as a member of the campus community. A situation such as this is difficult, it affected many, and we want to provide the needed support as we all move through this difficult time."

Read the full Greenwich Time story here.