Jesse Ridgway Does Down Syndrome Impression For Series in Resurfaced Clip

Jesse Ridgway did a shocking impression of a person with Down syndrome years before he and his wife chose to terminate her pregnancy after finding out their baby had the condition.

Here's the deal ... almost 9 years ago, Ridgway posted a 45-minute video for his series "The Devil Inside" in which his character snaps, and he takes on different personalities. Near the end of that video, Jesse is forced to snap at gunpoint -- and he takes on the personality of someone he says has Down syndrome.

Warning, it's a tough watch ... Ridgway employs a stereotypical voice and adds mannerisms often used by people mocking those with special needs. He's only in the guise for about a minute of the overall runtime before he crashes through a mirror and seems to regain his original personality.

We've reached out to Jesse about the clip ... and he explains the video was part of an online series.

He says, "I play a character name Isaac Kalder who has hijacked Jesse Ridgway’s life. My family is pissed so they hold me at gunpoint and force me to switch chars rapidly. The identity switches happen too fast and it fries my brain."

Again, Ridgway specifically says he has Down syndrome in the video during the moment when his brain is apparently fried ... and he's defending his portrayal as art, not a mockery.

As we told you ... Jesse and his wife, Ashley, say they've received a ton of death threats after revealing they opted for an abortion once learning their child was going to have Down syndrome.

On IG, Jesse and Ashley explained they were worried about the health issues associated with Down syndrome, and said the decision came after extensive conversations with medical professionals.