Latino Family Speaks About Hoboken Vape Van ‘Hate Rant’

HOBOKEN, NJ — A Latino family that was the target of a profanity-filled rant against immigrants in Hoboken last weekend has issued a statement thanking the community for its support and denouncing what they call “hateful, hurtful, nativist and offensive acts.”

The incident took place near Washington and 5th Streets this weekend, and involved a group of pedestrians and a “team member” of 9th Cloud Vape, a local “mobile vape bar” business.

The verbal fight was captured on video and quickly went viral.

“Go back to your own country, you f****** [immigrant],” the vape bar worker can be seen yelling. He later reenters a van, proclaiming “Trump!” followed by a racial slur. [Watch a video of the encounter later in this article]

• See related article: Hoboken ‘Vape Van’ Rant About Immigration, Trump Sparks Outrage

On Monday, Leidy Gutierrez, who said she was the daughter of the Latino man targeted in the video, issued the following statement to Patch:

“On behalf of my family, I publicly express our gratitude to the Hoboken community, Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Councilmen Ravi Bhalla and Ruben Ramos and the Hoboken Police Department for their swift and firm response to the aggression and hate speech my father suffered.

“We denounce the hateful, hurtful, nativist, and offensive acts from the 9th Cloud Vape Van Owner on May 6. We hear countless stories of harassment, intimidation, and bullying of immigrants around our nation. It was our obligation to speak out. No hard-working American, whether or not they are an immigrant, should have to work in fear.

“We must all stand up against this type of behavior. No one should be targeted on the basis of race, religion, or immigration status. I encourage people to use this as an example to speak up and report these incidents without fear of any recrimination. Hate speech and hate crimes hurt the entire community, not just the victims.

“We hope that the response to this incident helps bring awareness to the hate and bias-motivated incidents surrounding our communities, especially against the Latino community in our area. We also hope that others with similar sentiments about immigrants realize the harm they cause and the consequences of their actions.

“Speak up. If we don’t take action, hate will persist.”

Patch has reached out to 9th Cloud Vape for comment about the incident but has not received a reply. We will post a follow up article with any reply we receive.

Comment on this story at the Patch Hoboken Facebook page.

Watch a video of the encounter below. WARNING: Video contains strong language and racial slurs. Viewer discretion advised.

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo: YouTube screenshot