Nebraska Man Receives Death Threats Over Racist Slur He Says Vandals Put on His Pickup Truck

Austin Cordis' name began to circulate online late Saturday night, after Twitter users identified him as the owner of a commercial pickup truck photographed with a racial slur scrawled across the back windshield. "Trump 2020" appeared below the slur, written in large lettering with red, white and blue paint.

Cordis, a 21-year-old resident of Ohiowa, Nebraska, said he has received death threats since the photo first surfaced on social media. In comments to the Omaha World-Herald on Sunday afternoon, Cordis confirmed he owns the 2002 Chevrolet Silverado but claimed someone else is responsible for the racist message.

According to the newspaper, Cordis said he parked his truck outside a mall in Lincoln around 5 p.m. local time on Saturday, and found the slur written on its rear window after "about 20 minutes" spent inside. He told the newspaper he went to a car wash three blocks away, and said he did not file a police report after the supposed vandalism took place.

"I just washed it off. I thought it was stupid," said Cordis, who told the publication he is "not a racist" and "all lives matter."

The World-Herald reportedly contacted officers at the Lincoln Police Department for additional information about vandalism reports filed in the area late Saturday afternoon, since Cordis claimed other vehicle were "marked up" in the Gateway Mall parking lot, in addition to his.

"There was no vandalism of that nature reported to the Lincoln Police Department," Captain Danny Reitan told the newspaper on Sunday. "There's nothing (reported) in the area of the Gateway Mall."

Cordis insisted the slur was not his doing. He suggested someone might be trying to compound his already existing legal issues while he awaits trial in district court for felony charges related to growing marijuana and possessing a firearm. "I don't know, but I don't even vote," he told the World-Herald.

Social media users gathered in droves to investigate details about Cordis, who was initially unidentified, after former professional basketball player Rex Chapman retweeted a photo of the 2002 Chevy's egregious slur on Saturday.

WARNING: Photo below contains offensive language.

"Sick of this s***. Twitter do your thing...#BlackLivesMatter," Chapman wrote. "It also says Trump 2020 below it. Just so we're clear."

The commercial truck was quickly linked to Cordis using its license plate number, which appeared in the photo. Countless messages flooded the comments section of Chapman's post, as well as numerous others posted independently, sharing disgust for the racist slur and person responsible for it.

"I've got everybody and anybody you can think of calling me and texting me," Cordis said on Sunday, according to the World-Herald. "There have been a lot of death threats from people that I don't know."

Newsweek reached out to Cordis and the Lincoln Police Department for comments but did not receive replies in time for publication.