An employee at a Speedway gas station located in south Minneapolis refused to serve Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, along with several other federal immigration agents, which kicked off a firestorm of controversy surrounding the issue of private businesses having the right to lawfully deny service to law enforcement officers.
The incident was captured on video by conservative activist Cam Higby and shows Bovino being followed out of the Speedway by a man who identified himself as the manager of the business. When the manager was asked why he refused to serve the immigration agents, he said, “Because I wanted to.” He then made it clear he didn’t care if the denial of service was legal or not.
The incident occurred at the same time Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was out and about in Minneapolis conducting operations to locate, detain, and deport criminal illegal aliens. According to information shared by Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, agents carrying out these operations were harassed on a regular basis by left-wing activists and blocked by hostile protesters while trying to take bathroom breaks at several gas stations in the city.
“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 said to reporters, according to local news outlet KFBK. McLaughlin shared that at one particular location, folks in the crowd started throwing food at agents.
At another, a person spit on an agent. In most places around the country, spitting on someone counts as assault. Critics of radical leftists protesters believe they should be held accountable for their actions by being charged for assault for such disgusting behavior. “When an agent moved to detain the person who spit on him, the crowd tackled and attacked the agents while surrounding them,” McLaughlin stated.
“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,” the report concluded.
Users on X commented on the footage of the incident, promising to boycott Speedways all over the country. “I will no longer patron Speedway. I support America,” one user stated emphatically. “Same. And I’ve been a loyal Speedway customer since the day I could drive,” user Nick Sortor said. “Oh @Speedway
is about to FAFO we conservatives are who keep their company alive,” a third individual commented.
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“They’re also owned by @7eleven the company that fired a woman for shooting the man who strangled her while she was working!!!!” the person added. Sortor, who shared the clip on his account tagged Speedway in the post and warned that, “You’re going to end up getting Bud Lighted,” a reference to the massive boycott that obliterated Bud Light sales after they ran an ad campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Featured image: screenshot from embedded video