A Speedway gas station employee in south Minneapolis refused service to Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and other federal immigration agents, sparking national debate about whether private businesses can lawfully deny service to law enforcement officers.
Video captured by conservative activist Cam Higby shows Bovino being followed out of the Speedway location on Portland Avenue by a man identifying himself as a manager. When asked why he refused service, the employee stated: “Because I wanted to. t he personally did not care if the refusal was illegal.
The incident occurred as federal immigration agents conducted targeted enforcement operations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said agents were repeatedly harassed and blocked by hostile crowds while simply trying to take bathroom breaks at multiple gas station locations.
“At each gas station where the agents stopped to use the restroom, groups of agitators appeared, yelled at them, stalked them, and even tried to prevent law enforcement vehicles from leaving, creating unsafe conditions,” McLaughlin told reporters.
McLaughlin said that at one location, individuals in the crowd threw food at agents, and at another stop, someone spit on an agent. “When an agent moved to detain the person who spit on him, the crowd tackled and attacked the agents while surrounding them,” she said.
The Speedway incident follows similar situations in recent weeks. A Hampton Inn in nearby Lakeville, Minnesota, repeatedly refused service to ICE agents, canceling reservations and asking them to “pass on” the news they were unwelcome. After public apologies, Hilton took corrective action by removing the inn from its franchise rolls and sending a crane to remove its Hampton Inn sign from the
Recent Comments