Woman whose racist pizza shop rant went viral says she is ‘profoundly sorry’ after charges are announced

The woman whose racist rant in a Montgomery County pizza shop went viral was charged with ethnic intimidation and harassment Friday, according to the Hatboro Police Department.

The video — which was posted to TikTok by user @kellyflores765 and deleted — depicts Rita Bellew, a 55-year-old CPA from Hatboro, berating Omar Quiñones, the owner of Amy’s Family Pizzeria, for playing Spanish-language television in his restaurant last week.

In the video, Bellew questions Quiñones’ immigration status before asking for a refund. In between, she touts her centuries-long connections to Hatboro, calls Quiñones an “ignoramus” and un-American, and starts filming Quiñones and his staff while claiming they are “racist against white people.”

The clip has since been posted to Reddit, where it’s received more than 3,300 upvotes and spawned an uplifting publicity campaign for the pizzeria, which has been inundated with positive reviews and orders from out-of-state customers.

Per a copy of the criminal complaint obtained by The Inquirer, Hatboro officer Brett Paul, who responded to the incident at Amy’s Pizzeria, said that Bellew shrugged when learning she was barred from the restaurant. He said she went on to say, “I’m white, I’m white, I’m racist,” and later, “I’m too damn white.”

When The Inquirer first contacted Bellew, she misrepresented herself as a family member, later saying she was concerned about her safety. The second time The Inquirer reached Bellew, she said she was preparing to accept the charges.

“I’m profoundly sorry,” Bellew said. “I don’t want to make excuses.”

Bellew said the week leading up to the incident was a tough one: Her father had been in and out of the hospital, and she herself is being treated for breast cancer.

“Whatever happened in there was a combination of everything” that was going on, Bellew said. “It was a pressure cooker.”

Hatboro Police Chief James Gardener told The Inquirer earlier this week he initially didn’t consider Bellew’s outburst a hate crime, chalking it up to “a dispute between a customer and a business where a bunch of hateful, vitriolic comments were made.”

According to Pennsylvania law, an ethnic intimidation charge is commonly referred to as a “hate crime.”

Bellew, however, said she isn’t a racist. She calls herself a “conservative, but not necessarily a Trump supporter,” and said immigration isn’t one of her top priorities. She said her connections to immigrants include grandparents from Ireland and a best friend who is Puerto Rican (and not an immigrant, as Puerto Rico is a commonwealth).

Bellew’s case is being prosecuted in Montgomery County by Assistant District Attorney Tanner Beck, per the release from Hatboro police. The preliminary hearing has yet to be scheduled.

Bellew’s rant also had another set of unanticipated consequences: After the video went viral last week, internet vigilantes went looking for Bellew and came up short, misidentifying and doxxing three women in process: Candice Bogar, Sally Poppert, and Tracey Gaida — three blond accountants who work at firms in the Philadelphia suburbs.

“We can unequivocally report that those incorrectly identified on previous third party social media platforms, including but not limited to, Candice Bogar, Sally Poppert, and Tracey Gaida and their associated business have absolutely nothing to do with this incident,” read a statement from Hatboro police. “We strongly suggest people cease and desist the attachment of false or mistaken names and identities to this video as the identity of the individual(s) involved are known to police.”

Gardener said the stream of harassment these three women received first gave him pause about naming Bellew, even though he condemned her actions.

“With the amount of angry people that are out there — which is understandable — I have concerns for everyone’s safety in this, including hers,” said Gardener.

The internet seemed to have beat the police to the punch. Two TikTokers posted videos with screenshots of Bellew’s Facebook page, where she calls herself an “American Patriot” and displays an American flag banner.

Bellew said she was receiving threats even before the Hatboro police named her, which drove several family members to check into a hotel.

The outpouring of support for the Quiñones family and their business has been a silver lining, said Bellew, who hasn’t been in contact with them since police barred her from visiting Amy’s Family Pizzeria.