A MAGA supporter and social media influencer recently sat down for an interview on Newsmax where he and his friend shared their encounter with anti-Trump employees of a local Panda Express restaurant who called the police on them and booted them from the restaurant simply for sporting a MAGA hat in the eatery. Before the interview, influencer Chris Sims posted about the incident on his social media account.
“Panda Express kicked out @DannyRebel333 and Myself out for Simply wearing a MAGA hat, and giving a thumbs up to a cook that just stood and Stared at me the whole time because of my Hat,” Sims recounted in a post on X. “I asked if there was an issue and the cook said, ‘Your hat,” so I asked if he supported it,” Sims continued.
“They proceeded to call the police, and falsely say we were refusing to leave,” Sims continued. “I left the store and stood on the sidewalk and multiple employees came out to intimidate me to leave and stop filming on the public sidewalk. The Police informed the staff that we did nothing wrong, the woman who called 911 cried and walked back into the building,” he explained.
The conservative influencer wrapped up his post by saying the restaurant chain should hold their employees to a higher standard. “No crime, No disturbance, Just a hat and a Thumbs up. This is blatant political discrimination. Panda Express should be ashamed and hold its employees to higher standards,” Sims finished. Sims was livestreaming on social media when the incident transpired.
However, he noticed one of the workers was staring at him in a way that made him feel uncomfortable, a report from Fox News revealed. Sims and his friend, fellow influencer Danny Rebel, who considers himself a citizen journalist, recounted the situation during their interview on Newsmax, sharing additional details about the encounter.
While Rebel was ordering and paying for their food, Sims was interacting with viewers on his livestream when he noticed an employee giving him the stink eye. “And as we walked out, I looked, and I just gave him a thumbs up, because he wouldn’t smile, didn’t have any facial expression. And then he kind of walked over, and I was like, ‘I do something to you guys, is everything okay?’” Sims said.
The employee, clearly agitated, made a comment about the MAGA hat Sims was wearing. Sims then asked the man what he thought of the hat, if he supported the movement it represented. That’s when things got tense, as the man told them they needed to leave the restaurant. In the video clip of the confrontation, Sims and Rebel leave the restaurant, but are followed outside by two workers.
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The workers tell the two men they aren’t allowed to stand on the sidewalk. The Newsmax host noted that the tension was thick in the air, stating he believed things would have turned violent had Rebel and Sims not been livestreaming. A spokesperson for Panda Express published a statement condemning the way Sims and Rebel were treated by employees.
“We want everyone who walks into Panda Express to feel welcome and treated with respect. We have been reviewing the details and understand the situation was handled and addressed at the restaurant level. We’ve reinforced to all our associates the importance of delivering a consistent, welcoming experience for every guest,” the statement read.
The comment section on the interview clip was replete with users stating they were going to boycott Panda Express over the incident. “Damn and I liked Panda Express. Well I guess I’ll just go to the McDonald’s down the road from now on,” a user said. “It is nice to find out about stores that feel this way, in fact I would encourage all stores to post their political stance on or around their door – it helps me – I would never purchase anything from them again if they feel my money is tainted because of my voting choices,” a second commenter wrote.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video