Brandtbert J Brudenell, 19, booked on suspicion of criminal trespassing, refusing to provide his real name and underage alcohol consumption after confrontation on green in Scottsdale, Arizona. A teenager who was seen in a viral video making shocking racist comments is facing multiple charges after being subsequently arrested for trespassing while intoxicated at a golf club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Scottsdale Police said Brudenell had fled from the venue’s security personnel prior to being apprehended by officers and was duly taken to Scottsdale Jail and booked on suspicion of criminal trespassing, refusing to provide his real name and underage alcohol consumption.
They added that, although they were not aware of the fact at the time of the arrest, Brudenell is the same man who has been widely seen declaring “Heil Hitler” and making racist slurs against Mexicans in a video that recently went viral on Instagram after reportedly being filmed at the WM Phoenix Open. The video, filmed by an unknown woman, features Brudenell (incorrectly) making a “1488” hand gesture – recognized by the Anti-Defamation League as a numerical code used by neo-Nazis and white supremacists – and declaring that “border-hopping” immigrants should have their throats “sliced” before making personal insults to the woman filming on her phone after being confronted about his comments.
“We were doing our own thing, and he approached us and started making comments about Mexican men, so we started recording,” a caption on the original video read, by way of explanation. Scottsdale Police spokesperson Sergeant Allison Sempsis said officers have addressed the video with Brudenell and have made contact with the woman who filmed it in order to better understand its context. The Phoenix Open has since said in a statement that the offender has been banned from its event and condemned his remarks, which it said were “unacceptable and not representative of our fans, players, and organizers.”.
The Open said its management and sponsors “have a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech in any form and have banned the individual from the premises and all future PGA TOUR events.”. Phoenix-based home security company Vivent said it had dismissed Brudenell from his job with the firm, which he had held for less than three months, after completing an internal investigation inspired by the video, in which the subject can be seen wearing a baseball cap bearing its logo.
“This behavior is abhorrent and in no way reflects the values of our brand,” Vivent said in a statement of its own. As Arizona Republic points out, the incident is the latest in a series of recent episodes in which emboldened individuals have been reprimanded for making overtly offensive gestures or statements in public. Clergyman Calvin Robinson, for one, lost his license as a priest with the Anglican Catholic Church following an appearance in Washington, D.C., in which he attempted to mimic the “Nazi” salute Elon Musk made at an event celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration as president last month.
Supervisor Laura Smith, for another, was forced to resign from the Towamencin Township Board of Supervisors in Pennsylvania for likewise making a gesture similar to Musk’s in another video that went viral. One of Musk’s own employees at the Department of Government Efficiency, Marko Elez, also had to resign after a string of racist X posts were uncovered, only for the world’s richest man to reinstate him.
