SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities in a Phoenix suburb will not pursue criminal charges against a gallery owner whose racist rant last year was caught on video while Native American dancers were being filmed.
Officials in Scottsdale called the confrontation last February “a nauseating example” of bigotry but said that Gilbert Ortega Jr.’s actions did not amount to a crime with a “reasonable likelihood of conviction.”
Ortega, the owner of Gilbert Ortega Native American Galleries, had been facing three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct in connection with the confrontation in Old Town Scottsdale ahead of last year’s Super Bowl game.
A message left Friday at a phone number listed for Ortega’s gallery was not immediately returned.
The Scottsdale city attorney’s office said Friday in a statement that it closed its investigation after reviewing evidence in the case, including cellphone and surveillance videos and police reports. The FBI also assisted in the investigation.
“The suspect’s behavior was vulgar, very upsetting to all those involved, and tarnished the reputation of the Scottsdale community,” the city attorney’s office said. “However, the incident did not rise to the point of criminality.”