When Randy Furniss attended Richard Spencer’s far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the white supremacist never expected to run into the likes of Aaron Courtney.
Courtney, a 31-year-old high school football coach, attended Spencer’s controversial speech at the University of Florida—but he responded much differently than his fellow protestors.
As people yelled, screamed, threw punches and spit at Furniss, who unashamedly donned a t-shirt stamped with swastikas, Aaron Courtney battled with love.
“I could have hit him, I could have hurt him…but something in me said, ‘You know what? He just needs love,'” says Courtney, who proceeded to hug the Nazi in a video that has now gone viral.
“Why don’t you like me, dog?,” said the Gainesville football coach as he attempted to wrap his arms around Spencer’s neck.
A nazi and a black man…..America 2017 #SpencerAtUF pic.twitter.com/sSaG36EuOr
— Politics 4 Dummies (@Politics4dum) October 19, 2017
Courtney had spent four hours protesting before running into Furniss as he was about to leave.
“I had the opportunity to talk to someone who hates my guts and I wanted to know why,” he told the Daily News of the encounter that was undoubtedly orchestrated by God. “During our conversation, I asked him, ‘Why do you hate me? What is it about me? Is it my skin color? My history? My dreadlocks?’”