US Embassy Malta Gets a Viral Video But — Not the Kind You Want

August 28, 2013 By in Americans Abroad, Foreign Service, Realities of the FS, State Department, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , ,

— By Domani Spero

It happened last Saturday, August 24 in the island of Malta.  Somebody was in a flat in Sliema when there was a “USA vs Malta street argument.”  YouTube user jakovids filmed the incident and uploaded it to Youtube with the following note: “…some maltese driver refuses to reverse to make space for this American… next thing you know he’s out the car wanting to fight!”  The video posted on August 24 has now gone “viral” with 107,257 views.

WARNING: video contains explicit language

On August 26, the US Embassy in Malta made the following statement on its FB page:

The U.S. Embassy deplores the conduct shown in the video. We regret such inexcusable behavior, whether on the part of an American citizen, or those of any other nationality. We strongly believe that everyone should be treated with respect and courtesy on the roads and in the streets of our towns and villages. We’re all in this together.

On August 27, the  Times of Malta reported that the US embassy has refused to confirm or deny whether an American man seen verbally assaulting a Maltese driver in an online video is a member of its staff.

On August 28, the US Embassy has reportedly admitted that the American in the video is an embassy employee.  “The US Embassy can confirm that the subject of this video was an embassy employee who has since departed,” the embassy said in a statement cited by The Times of Malta.

According to news reports, the U.S. Embassy also said Wednesday that the unidentified employee “did not comport with the standards of behavior that we expect from all embassy personnel.”

The statement is not available on the embassy’s website or the mission’s social media sites as of this writing.

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