Anti-mask protesters target New Westminster café
Posted November 27, 2020 7:05 pm.
Last Updated November 27, 2020 7:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NEW WESTMINSTER (CityNews) — A New Westminster business owner is shaken after she says anti-mask protestors ambushed her store and refused to leave.
On Monday, the owners of The Hide Out Café say a group of protesters entered their shop yelling racial slurs, and refusing to wear masks. They were claiming a medical exemption but refused to provide any verification.
Video of the confrontation was posted to Facebook that evening.
“I definitely felt traumatized after that experience,” says co-owner Melissa Serrano.
“What they were trying to do is take our power away and embarrass us, and we’ve taken the whole week to recuperate from that experience.”
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“We are a business trying to make it right, to stay open, to feed people. To come and make a mockery out of it for nothing is such a shame,” says co-owner Grant Hamlyn.
The owners called the police who brought the protesters outside and tried to deescalate the situation.
“People that are causing these issues, it’s not the people with medical exemptions. It’s, for the most part, the anti-mask wearers that are being aggressive during this whole thing. Store owners have a right to protect themselves, and they do that by asking their customers to wear masks,” said Sgt. Sanjay Kumar.
On Tuesday, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth announced anyone who doesn’t comply with the mandatory mask order in indoor public spaces could be looking at a $230 fine
