Vile shopper wears Ku Klux Klan hood to grocery store after residents ordered to wear face masks
A VILE shopper was pictured wearing a Klu Klux Klan hood while at the grocery store, after San Diego County made it mandatory for all residents to wear face coverings in public.
The man was repeatedly asked by employees to remove the hood while shopping – but only did so when he was in the checkout line, a spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times.
Pictures taken from a Vons supermarket in Santee, California show the man wearing the hood inside the store.
Images show him wearing the hood as he pushed his cart around the store, and opening a produce bag.
One picture shows the man without the hood on as he leaned on the handle of the shopping cart.
A company spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times that although he did not take his hood off when asked by clerks while shopping, as he was in the checkout line, a supervisor told him to remove the hood or leave.
The man took off the hood, checked out, and left.
The incident occurred on May 2, the day after San Diego County made it mandatory for all residents to wear a face covering in public due to the coronavirus pandemic.
People have become outraged by the incident, with police, the mayor, and others saying the symbol of hate will not be tolerated.
Santee City Mayor John Minto thanked the people who stepped in “to curtail this sad reminder of intolerance.”
“Santee, its leaders, and I will not tolerate such behavior,” Minto said in a statement.
“Santee and its citizens are great, and this particular individual’s actions are not representative of us as a people and a wonderful city,” he added.
The city of Santee had an old reputation for connection to white supremacists, and had nickname “Klantee,” the Times of San Diego reported.
East County Supervisor Dianne Jacob condemned the incident as “blatant racism.”
“The images I’ve seen are abhorrent. This blatant racism has no place in Santee or any part of San Diego County,” Jacob said in a statement on Twitter.
“It is not who we are. It is not what we stand for and can’t be tolerated,” she added.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s office said in a statement they were not called to the grocery store while the man was shopping there, but that they are investigating the incident and “will pursue any appropriate criminal charges.”
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“The Sheriff’s Department does not condone hate acts or any acts of intolerance in our communities,” police said in a statement.
“We are a county that is welcoming of people from all backgrounds.”
Police have asked anyone with information on the incident to contact 619-516-4050.