Man Goes on White Supremacist Rant, Flashes Gun. Police Say It’s Just ‘Free Speech’
Seemingly desperate to prove he was from the state that refers to itself as the “Heart of Dixie,” an Alabama man went all Alabama in an Alabama coffee shop by going on a racist rant that left the business’ white customers disturbed and reminded the black customers that they were actually in Alabama.
According to the Auburn Plainsman, a man walked into a local coffee shop known for its diversity (evident in this main Facebook photo) on Tuesday afternoon and delivered a brief speech that was a cross between Donald Trump’s State of the Union, a Bill Maher ad lib, and every DM in my Twitter account.
The Plainsman reports:
Customers called police at Mama Mocha’s on Gay Street after the man — who hasn’t been identified by police — walked in with a young woman, ordered a coffee, sat down by himself on a couch for a while and proceeded to stand in a chair in the middle of the cafe to shout Nazi and white nationalist rhetoric.“He was giving Heil Hitler arm motions pretty aggressively,” said Sarah Barnett-Gill, the owner of the coffee shop, known for its minority and LGBT-inclusive atmosphere. “He loudly started talking about Nazi rhetoric and White Lives Matter and giving a racist monologue.”The cafe’s manager, Richard Trammell, said he was outside on the phone when the incident started, but he rushed back inside when he saw the man wave the Nazi salute.“As he was walking out, I told him not to come back, and he showed me his gun,” Trammell said. “I have a Black Lives Matter pin on and being a black man, I wasn’t really shook. I wasn’t really scared. But it was a very charged situation.”
“He left the front door, and he was screaming that this is a free country and he has a right to free speech and he can say whatever he wanted,” Barnett-Gill said.
Employees immediately called the Auburn Police Department, who eventually tracked down the young Fuhrer and identified him as 21-year-old Zachary Taylor Hay, who might be the most aptly-named white supremacist since 1930’s Klan leader Ray Sisturd. However, instead of fearing for their lives, the cops decided to go easy on the gun-toting coffee Nazi.
Police told the Plainsman in a statement that the man was legally in possession of his weapon, adding: “The incident did not occur in the presence of APD Officers; as such, any criminal charges would have to be filed by a complainant.”
Wait ... what?
They couldn’t arrest him because the cops didn’t actually see him commit a crime? Is that a thing in the white people benefit package? Apparently, eyewitnesses don’t matter if you’re white. According to AL.com, Barnett-Gill said the police explained that Hay was “within his right to free speech.”
In her search for everlasting justice, Barnett-Gill immediately issued a declaration banning the Ku Klux Coffee-lover from both Mama Mocha’s locations. She also wrote a sternly-worded post to Facebook. Sure, she could have easily gone down to the police department and filed a complaint as the officers said. The important thing here is no one was hurt and it will never happen again.
Of course, since the police department, the managers and the store owners don’t seem to care about it, there are no legal barriers to prevent this from happening again.
But think about this: What are the odds that there are two racists in one Alabama town?
White Lives Matter.
