Footage captured by Cole of the February 13 interaction shows the unidentified driver walking over to Cole's vehicle and opening his door, before yelling a series of obscenities and racial slurs.
"You got a f**king problem n***er?" the man asks after opening Cole's driver door. "I'll f**king kill you, b*tch. F**k you!" The individual then scurries back to his truck and speeds off into the distance.
— Simar (@sahluwal) February 16, 2019
Cole explained to local news station WUSA9 that the man first began acting aggressively toward him when he came to a stop at a red light on Odendhal Avenue in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
"The car behind me, this gentleman, he got upset and he wanted me to move forward and started honking his horn. And I didn't move, because it's a red light. There's no need to move," he explained, pointing out that he could see the driver mouthing racial slurs and showing him the one-finger salute in his rearview mirror.
And so when the light turned green, the upset driver sped up next to Cole and unloaded his offensive remarks. Cole never responded to the driver, and instead opted to follow him so that he could get the man's license plate number.
"That was imperative because stuff like this happens," Cole stressed. "I just wanted something to be done."
When asked why he hadn't reacted in the moment to the driver's remarks, Cole explained that as a black man he's simply "not supposed to react."
"I can't do tit for tat," he said. "I can't match his anger with my anger, because something could happen to me. So, when somebody says that to me, it's not about me. It's about them. Probably having a bad day."
Cole told local news outlet Fox 5 that he doesn't plan to dwell on the confrontation. "I don't see America as that… America is beautiful, wonderful country and that's what I focus on when stuff like this happens," he said.
