Video shows Jeff Brown saying if citizens knew of his opponents’ corruption, ‘they’d lynch them’

Philadelphia mayoral candidate Jeff Brown apologized Friday after a local journalist posted a video of Brown saying that if citizens knew of his opponents’ corruption, “they’d lynch them.”

“A lot of the insiders, they don’t want an outsider,” Brown said in a video tweeted by Philadelphia Magazine editor-at-large Ernest Owens.

Brown, speaking to an unidentified white man, continued: “Because all the things they do, to me, some of them are horrifying, that they have their little deal amongst themselves, and if the citizens knew, they’d lynch them.”

Brown, a ShopRite proprietor, is the only serious contender among 11 Democrats running for mayor who has never held elected office before. Most of his opponents are people of color — six are Black.

In a statement, Brown apologized, saying the word “is hurtful to so many and has no place in public discourse.”

“I think my record speaks for itself, and even though there was no racial intent, I understand that my words were offensive,” he said. “I promise to do better in the future.”

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A spokesperson for Brown said the video depicted a side conversation that took place before a mayoral forum. The video appears to have been taken inside Houston Hall on the University of Pennsylvania campus, where the Philadelphia Crosstown Coalition hosted a forum Tuesday.

A major part of Brown’s pitch through the campaign has been his work opening grocery stores in majority-Black communities, and he has specifically courted voters of color, allying himself with prominent Black surrogates and winning the backing of unions that have majority Black memberships.

He has also on multiple occasions taken heat on issues related to race, including from two Black opponents.

Derek Green, a former City Council member who is Black, said Friday that he was “disgusted” by Brown’s remarks. Green had criticized Brown earlier in the campaign after Brown said that “people of color, especially Black people, have been [his] life’s work.”

“Jeff Brown, you cannot call Black people your ‘life’s work,’ then turn around and callously joke about people ‘lynching’ your opponents, multiple of whom are Black,” Green said in a statement. “Your comments are hurtful, dangerous, clueless, and they are a continuation of a pattern of problematic behavior.”

Cherelle Parker, a former City Council member who is Black and had said earlier in the campaign that Brown has benefited from “white privilege wealth,” declined to comment Friday.

”His words speak for themselves,” Parker spokesperson Aren Platt said.

» READ MORE: Jeff Brown could be Philly’s first outsider mayor in a century. Can a grocer run the city?

The Rev. Marshall Mitchell, an influential Black pastor at Salem Baptist Church of Abington and a supporter of Brown’s, defended him Friday, saying, “Works are louder than words.”

“Jeff’s works and his dedication, his commitment, his partnership, has demonstrated years of participation, in particular in the Black community,” Mitchell said. “That speaks volumes more than a couple of words which were unfortunate and misspoken.”

In February, Brown’s campaign took down a social media video featuring a Black supporter seemingly comparing Brown to God. And TV commercials featuring former first lady Michelle Obama — which were funded both by Brown’s campaign and an outside group supporting him — drew a rebuke from Obama’s office, who said the ads relied on old appearances to suggest an endorsement she never made.

In a February interview, Brown said the criticism by his opponents was part of a “distasteful” political strategy aimed at dividing people by race, and said he stood by the ads featuring the former first lady.

“I don’t have any racial tensions or any racial problems,” Brown said.

Inquirer staff writers Sean Collins Walsh and Jake Blumgart contributed to this article.