White Man Pulls Gun on Black Teens in Miami on MLK Day

Mark Allen Bartlett of Hollywood Beach, Fla., pulled a gun on several Black teens, repeatedly calling them the n-word, as they were taking part in a “Bikes Up Guns Down” event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Brickell.


“Get the fk out of here fking stupid ners!” Bartlett shouts. “Fking dumb ass fking ners!”

Police identified Bartlett, age 51, and he was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed firearm, which is a felony.

When officers approached his dark-colored Range Rover and asked if he had weapons, he said yes. When they asked if he had a permit, his response was he didn’t know he needed one.

The arrest form said a black Springfield Armory XD9 was fully loaded and readily available to him in the passenger seat’s pouch.

According to arrest documents, Bartlett
said, in custody, “Why am I being arrested when those kids are free to ride around I did pull out my gun, but I never pointed it at them.”

The video clearly shows otherwise.

He was smiling in his mugshot. He’s out on $5,000 bail.

The group, Dream Defenders, thinks the concealed weapon charge is just a slap on the wrist for Bartlett.

Miami City Commissioner Keon Hardemon, on his Instagram page, said more serious charges should be filed.

“Assault with a deadly weapon and calling them n—-rs sounds like a hate crime to me,” he wrote. “He will kill someone next time, if he isn’t arrested.”

These kids, members of Dream Defenders, were protesting a
development project in Liberty Square, a public housing complex as an offshoot effort known as “Bikes Up Guns Down.”

The protest was about the potential displacement of residents at the Liberty Square housing community.

The confrontation with the gun started with one female driver complaining about the kids blocking traffic. She called the protesters “thugs” and said that they ran over her foot.

Bartlett came out of his car with his gun pointed right at the teens, and after a few minutes asked the woman, “Who did it to you”

He had launched his racist tirade at one of the protesters, just a little while before pulling out his readily available loaded gun.

An anonymous member of Dream Defenders explained, “These kids are about to lose their housing.” One of the bicycle riders was 11 years old.

Hundreds of people protested in South Florida streets on their all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes also as a part of #BikesUpGuns Down.

Related Story: Update: White Man Who Pulled Gun on Black Teens Could Face Hate Crime Charges

Reader Question: Do you think him “brandishing” his weapon at Black children and calling them racial slurs is a hate crime

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