Store Owner Puts Up Sign Telling Biden Voters to Shop Elsewhere
Elmhurst Cigar House in Illinois warns: 'Biden Voters Keep Out'
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An Illinois store owner has put up a sign warning supporters of former Vice President Joe Biden to shop elsewhere.
Shaun Thompson, who has owned the Elmhurst Cigar House for the past six years, says he doesn't want people who voted for Biden in his store, or even anywhere near him.
Thompson posted a sign in the window of his business warning: “Biden Voters Keep Out!”
“I find it really, truly appalling – pretty much that I would like to say out and not go in,” a woman told local news outlet CBS 2.
“I find it horrible,” she added.
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“I find that offensive,” another woman said to CBS2.
“I’m a Trump supporter, so if somebody put ‘Trump supporters stay out,’ I wouldn’t, you know, find that a very kind thing to put out.”
Thompson defended his view to CBS 2, telling the station his anti-Biden stance is no laughing matter.
“I don’t want them anyway," Thompson said.
"I don’t want them in there, and I don’t want to have to pretend that they have respect for me, so I’m going to show disrespect for them.”
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He also told the affiliate that he doesn’t want anyone who voted for Biden to come into his store or anywhere near him, and to tell their friends this policy as well.
Thompson had never put up signs in political protest, but after the presidential election in November, he said he felt it was the time to do so, according to CBS 2.
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Legal analyst Irv Miller told the station that Thompson is unlikely to face any legal ramifications for the sign since it is a form of protected speech.
However, Miller noted that the store owner could face business consequences.
Thompson said due to shutdowns from the pandemic, he has been at zero sales before.
He told the outlet that, if he does receive backlash from the sign, he will smoke the unsold cigars himself.
