Man wears KKK hood in California grocery store amid coronavirus, sparking outrage and investigation
A man wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood was spotted shopping in a Vons grocery store in Southern California over the weekend, igniting outrage from shoppers, store management and the city’s mayor.(Tiam Tellez / Facebook)
A man wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood was spotted shopping in a California grocery store over the weekend, igniting outrage from shoppers, management and the city’s mayor.
Photos of the incident at a Vons store in the city of Santee, northeast of San Diego, were posted on Facebook Saturday by a local resident who called the man’s actions “disgusting.”
“So troublesome in so many ways,” Tiam Tellez, 49, wrote in a caption to the disturbing pics.
“I want to say thank you to the management team. Several employees came over together and told the man to either remove the hood or he would have to leave, so he removed the hood,” Tellez wrote.
The man, once unmasked, was photographed bowing his head as he leaned over his cart with his arms crossed on the handle amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“To my knowledge, we still don’t know who that man is, but I would love to know who that person is and hold them accountable. I know the sheriff is looking into it,” Santee Mayor John Minto told the Daily News in a phone interview Monday morning.
“It’s a sad reminder of intolerance,” he said. “The people who live in our city deserve better.”
Minto hailed the other shoppers and store employees who confronted the man and forced him to remove the KKK hood or leave.
“I think it’s fantastic that they took action. I think it demonstrates the real character of our city,” he said. “Today, with so much going on, you don’t know how people are going to react to confrontation. Sometimes people do nothing out of fear. And this was one of those instances where people set aside their fear and took action.”
Minto said it’s not clear if the man would face criminal action if located, but the incident still warrants investigation.
“An intolerant person just standing there may not rise to the level of an actual crime, however, I think at a minimum there should be a conversation with this person. I would like to know what in the world made him think he could get away with something like this. Why would you do that? This is not acceptable. How could anybody miss that message?” he told The News.
San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacobs, who represents Santee, also denounced the man’s actions.
“The images I’ve seen are abhorrent,” she said in a statement, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. “This blatant racism has no place in Santee or any part of San Diego County. It is not who we are. It is not what we stand for and can’t be tolerated.”
Hahahahahaha!!!! Great trolling idea!
ReplyDeleteThis isn't illegal.
ReplyDeleteReally too bad somebody didn't take a bat to this guy.
ReplyDeleteI am sure he's a Democommie and wanted to make his point and his party known!!!!
ReplyDeleteYah so whats the problem
ReplyDeleteThe Spanish Inquisition wore hoods like these long before the KKK. Just like Nazi doctors experimenting on Jewish children wore surgical masks before the corona crowd.
ReplyDelete