A couple in Minnesota will not be returning to Walmart any time soon.
A man and woman were temporarily banned from the retail corporation’s stores around the country on Saturday after they were confronted on camera for wearing swastika face masks in a Walmart store in Marshall.
A Walmart spokesperson called the situation “unacceptable” and noted that they “will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment.”
“What happened at our store in Marshall, MN is unacceptable,” she said. “We strive to provide a safe and comfortable shopping environment for all our customers and will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment in any aspect of our business. We are asking everyone to wear face coverings when they enter our stores for their safety and the safety of others and it’s unfortunate that some individuals have taken this pandemic as an opportunity to create a distressing situation for customers and associates in our store.”
Raphaela Mueller and her partner Benjamin Ruesch filmed their confrontation with the couple in a video that went viral.
“You’re sick. You have an illness. You can’t be an American and wear that mask. You cannot,” Ruesch is heard telling the woman, who gives him the middle finger in response. “We literally had a war about this,” said.
The woman wearing the mask then shot back, “If you vote for Biden, you’re going to be in Nazi Germany. That’s what it’s going to be like.” Later in their argument, the woman said she was not a Nazi but was wearing the mask to warn others that “this is what we’re going to have, socialism,” if people vote for presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
This couple wore Nazi flags around their faces inside a Walmart in Marshall, MN to protest the statewide mask mandate that took effect today. I confirmed with a store manager. Video was posted to FB by Raphaela Mueller pic.twitter.com/t3v96PKh25
— Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) July 25, 2020
Her partner, who was wearing the same mask, was wearing a Trump shirt.
The Marshall Police Department were dispatched to the location after the store issued trespass notices to the couple, which means that they are prohibited from going into any Walmart facility for at least a year, according to Newsweek.
Employees at the Walmart tried to diffuse the situation by offering the couple different masks, but they refused. They also got angry when store employees asked them to leave. They were not charged with any crimes.
The incident happened the same day Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s mask policy went into effect. It requires patrons to wear masks at indoor public places and some outdoor venues.
Walmart implemented a mandatory mask policy in all its stores nationwide last Monday.
