A New Jersey father has been taken into custody following an alleged harassment incident involving a neighbor, sparked by a dispute over their children’s bullying. This confrontation, which gained considerable online attention, unfolded within a high-end apartment complex.
Forty-year-old Thomas Diiorio is now facing charges of harassment and bias intimidation, having reportedly hurled offensive language at Lakisha Spruill in their Mount Laurel, NJ residence around 6:30 p.m. on Monday, as reported by NJ.com.
During the argument, Diiorio allegedly used the term “you people” to refer to Spruill and other Black individuals.
According to court documents accessed by WPVI, Diiorio allegedly clarified during the encounter that he meant Black people by the phrase “you people,” claiming he only encounters these issues with them and not with white individuals.
Bystanders recorded the heated exchange, capturing Diiorio yelling in close proximity to Spruill in the complex’s parking area.
In the video, Diiorio can be heard shouting, “Get the f–k out of here,” illustrating the intensity of the altercation.
Diiorio, wearing a t-shirt, gym shorts, and socks, approached the woman as he emphatically yelled at her.
“Get in your car,” Diiorio repeatedly shouted as the woman asked for “somebody call the cops.”
The viral video, geolocated to Mount Laurel, has been viewed over 1.5 million times since it was posted early Tuesday morning.
Mount Laurel Police said it had responded to reports of a dispute over a “prior juvenile incident” inside the complex and separated the two shouting parents.
Both Diiorio and Spruill, who police did not name, accused the other of wrongdoing, but neither wanted to press criminal charges, according to the police department.
Spruill claimed Diiorio used racial slurs towards her and called her a “black bitch” before telling her to get away from the house, according to the outlet.
Spruill alleged her daughter has been a target of bullying by Diiorio’s two children, claiming they called her an “ugly African” in a recent incident.
Spruill claimed that when she confronted Diiorio about the beef between their daughters, he used the term “you people.”
Diiorio denied the allegations that the argument was racially charged while responding to comments on a Facebook post of the viral video.
“Had nothing to do with the color of this woman’s skin,” he wrote, according to the outlet.
Diiorio was arrested on Wednesday after footage of the incident was sent to police.
“During follow-up investigative efforts, detectives reviewed video footage submitted to the department on May 20, 2026,” police said. “The footage showed Thomas Diiorio, 40, of Mount Laurel, confronting the female victim during the incident.”
He appeared in Burlington County Superior Court on Thursday.
He was released from custody after the hearing but was ordered not to have contact with the victim, according to court records viewed by The Post.
Diiorio is scheduled to be back in court on July 15.
Mount Laurel Mayor Stephen Steglik praised Diiorio’s arrest after the township’s previous racial incidents.
“They wasted no time in contacting the victim and making sure the man in the video was apprehended,” Steglik wrote on Facebook. “To put it simply: If you’re going to be a vile, hate filled lunatic, do it somewhere else – not in Mount Laurel!”
