WASHINGTON — In a now viral video, a lone D.C. cyclist can be seen staring down a group of masked men from the Patriot Front, deemed a white supremacist group by both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. The hate group was in D.C. over the weekend, and stopped at the Washington Monument to make a speech, when they were interrupted by a man riding by on his red Capital Bikeshare.
"You were the losers of your high school class," he yells while the marchers stand on the National Mall. "You wear Walmart khakis. Cargo pants are OUT!"
Then there was the comment getting the most attention: "You look like General Custer's illegitimate son."
Meet Joe Flood, the man behind the taunts.
On Wednesday, Flood sat down with WUSA9 to talk about his heckling and reactions to it. He says he had no idea the interaction was being filmed, but soon enough the recording spread on social media, and eventually lead to national appearances on MSNBC and CNN.
"I wanted them to know that we are not afraid of them," Flood said. "And that the people of D.C. thought they were a joke."
On social media, Flood has been praised as a hero by many, including one TikTok user who made a cake for him.
"This one is for you, Red Bike Guy," said the narrator in a video posted by someone with the handle @ChloeBluffCakes.
Flood called the social media reaction overwhelming.
"It's like being thrown into a tornado," he said. "But in a good way."
Flood, who is a writer and photographer, said that he did not consider himself an activist.
"I would call myself a citizen," he said. "A concerned citizen and a resident of D.C. who used my first amendment rights to show them that they were wrong.“