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Scottsdale business owner Gilbert Ortega Jr. could face charges after Native performers were mocked

Scottsdale is condemning “racist comments” made to Native American performers by a man whose family has traded in Native artwork since the early 1800s.

Police have sent a case to city prosecutors, who will now weigh whether to file misdemeanor charges against Gilbert Ortega Jr.

Partial video clips of the incident viewed thousands of times on social media show a man identified as Ortega mocking Native American performers while standing just outside the Old Town Scottsdale gallery that bears his family name. With arms raised like Richard Nixon, the man tells his audience they’re in "MAGA country."

Now city prosecutors will decide whether to criminally charge Ortega for disorderly conduct.

City Hall has offered support to those targeted and said racist comments made during the incident do not represent the community.

Scottsdale’s mayor said the city is pursuing the case to the fullest extent of the law.

Multiple attempts to reach Ortega or an attorney representing him were left unanswered.

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Matthew Casey has won Edward R. Murrow awards for hard news and sports reporting since he joined KJZZ as a senior field correspondent in 2015.