Sean Spicer accused of using racial slur at a heated book signing event

Marina Pitofsky | USA TODAY

Sean Spicer's hotly anticipated book signing took a turn for the worse Friday when the former Trump administration press secretary was accused of using a racial slur toward a black classmate during his high school years.

The ex-communications director was at a book signing in Middletown, Rhode Island for his recent release of "The Briefing" about his time with President Donald Trump. At the signing, Alex Lombard, a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, approached him.

Lombard told Spicer they attended the Portsmouth Abbey School together, a Catholic prep school in Rhode Island. After Spicer said hello to Lombard and confirmed that he boxed in school, Lombard charged Spicer with calling him the N-word before one of their fights, according to a video from the Newport Daily News. Lombard was then escorted away by a security guard.

A publicist told The Associated Press that Spicer was "taken aback" by the "outrageous claim."

In the video, other attendees at the event can be heard saying, "you should be arrested immediately" and "get out of here" in response to Lombard's allegations.

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Lombard can also be heard threatening to fight Spicer in the video as he left the store.

"I was 14. I was a scared kid then, Sean. I'm not scared to fight you now," Lombard said.

Supporters and critics of Trump's administration also clashed at the signing. A few protesters gathered outside of the store during the event with signs calling Spicer a liar. Beth Murphy Ward, one of the demonstrators, explained why she came to the store to protest.

"This is a bookstore. There is something in that bookstore that Sean does not have. The books have spines. Sean does not," she said.

Another woman can be seen walking by Ward in the video saying, "You're just a liar yourself."

Ezme Webb-Hines, another protester, said in the video she was "disgusted" by the Trump administration.

"The lying that's taking place in this administration, telling us not to trust our eyes, our ears, our own critical thinking, to just go along with what other blanked P.R. spin they make up every day and change it the next day," Webb-Hines said.

Spicer was scheduled to have another book signing in Massachusetts on Saturday, but the event was canceled "due to the political climate," according to the AP.