Racial slur overheard in presence of employee
Company: Riot
The claim, verbatim
Around the end of July 2025, the plaintiff overheard a racial slur (the N-word) either directed at him or spoken in his presence by coworker Jacob Conkel.
Source (primary)
Howell v. Riot Platforms Inc — Entry #1: COMPLAINT WITH JURY DEMAND against All Defendants filed by Coronet Howell (RECAP (purchased via PACER), court_filing)
View cached copy (2026-09-26)Live source ↗
Quote: “Around the end of July 2025, while performing work duties, Mr. Howell alleges to have overheard a racial slur (the N-word) either directed at him or spoken in his presence.”
How we checked this
Checked on September 28, 2026. The cited source supports every part of this claim.
Paragraphs 11-15 allege the slur and name Jacob Conkel as the speaker. The complaint notes the plaintiff 'initially believed' it was a coworker named Jacob, and these remain unproven allegations.
Confirmed in the source:
- The complaint alleges the plaintiff overheard the N-word around the end of July 2025
- The complaint alleges the slur was either directed at him or spoken in his presence
- The complaint identifies coworker Jacob Conkel as the person the plaintiff says made the slur
What we did: Read our cached copy of RECAP (purchased via PACER) (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.415502/gov.uscourts.txnd.415502.1.0.pdf) in full (22,976 characters, retrieved September 26, 2026) and checked each assertion in the claim against it.
Additional evidence
confirms Howell v. Riot Platforms Inc — Entry #1: COMPLAINT WITH JURY DEMAND against All Defendants filed by Coronet Howell
Quote: “Around the end of July 2025, while performing work duties, Mr. Howell alleges to have overheard a racial slur (the N-word) either directed at him or spoken in his presence.”