Racist Lawyer Sorry For Threatening Spanish-Speaking Cafe Workers

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Attorney Aaron Schlossberg, the man who threatened to call ICE on Spanish-speaking workers in a Midtown Manhattan cafe, broke his silence Tuesday and apologized for his viral outburst.

Schlossberg tweeted an apology Tuesday afternoon saying: "To the people I insulted, I apologize." The lawyer did attempt to perform some damage control, stating "I am not racist," and saying that he moved to New York City because of its "remarkable diversity."

"Seeing myself online opened my eyes—the manner in which I expressed myself is unacceptable and is not the person I am. I see my words and actions hurt people, and for that I am deeply sorry."

Here's the full statement:

Since video of Schlossberg's rant went viral he has been kicked out of his Madison Avenue office building, a Congressman filed a legal grievance against him with the state's court system and a peaceful protest — complete with a mariachi band — was held outside of his Upper West Side apartment building.

The Midtown attorney became New York City's public enemy No. 1 when a video of him berating employees and customers at Midtown's Fresh Kitchen for conversing in Spanish went viral early Wednesday. A video of the outburst was posted to Facebook by a man named Edward Suazo, who said his wife and best friend recorded the hateful display.

"Your staff is speaking Spanish to customers when they should be speaking English," the man is seen telling a manager at the eatery.

When the manager tries to diffuse the situation by saying that sometimes his staff speaks Spanish to customers, the man begins pointing out people he heard speaking Spanish. Several customers eventually begin to heckle the man, which sets him off further.

As he appears to be leaving the business, the man turns around and claims that he's going to call ICE and get the workers deported.

"My guess is they're not documented, so my next call is to ICE to have each one of them kicked out of my country," the man says. "They have the balls to come here and live off of my money? I pay for their welfare, I pay for their ability to be here. The least they could do, the least they could do is speak English."

Watch the full video below:

Photo by M. Stan Reaves/REX/Shutterstock