Spicer attempted to ignore the angry person and continue going about his business as the woman, who goes by the name of “Shree” on Twitter, told him that he works for a “fascist,” in an apparent reference to US President Donald Trump. She webcast the spectacle on Periscope, Twitter’s livestream service.
— Shree ✊🏾❤️🇺🇸 (@shreec) March 11, 2017
Spicer responded by saying that it is, “such a great country that allows you to be here.”
Many have suggested that Spicer was likely referring to Shree’s right to confront and disrupt him in public while he is shopping, but the woman claimed that his remark was racist, and a “threat.”
“That is racism and it is an implied threat. Think about the sheer audacity of Mr. Spicer to say that to my face with a smile, knowing that he that he is being recorded on video and the position of power he holds in our government,” Shree wrote in a blog post about the encounter. “I am still stunned by the boldness of having my citizenship threatened on camera.”
In a February 18 tweet, the woman claimed that she was an organizer for the protests against current Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, in which attempts were made to physically block her from entering Jefferson Academy in DC.