Couple shoppers wearing Nazi-face masks on Walmart were banned for one year
As more establishments are implementing strict mask policies in their store premises, who would have known it could be used to create more noise?
Over the weekend, a Walmart shopper in Minnesota spotted and filmed a couple who were each sporting a red face covering with a visible Nazi symbol. Subsequently, the huge American retail company confirmed it happened, and informed that the couple are banned from all Walmart establishments.
Weekend Walmart Incident
The shopper who captured the couple in video on Saturday is Raphaela Mueller. She told CNN that she was shocked seeing the logo from fellow customers in a public setting. The 24-year old had reported the sighting to the manager of the store prior to confronting the couple who were checking out. She said, “It’s a sign of death, persecution, a lack of diversity. There was huge disappointment, pain, grief, and anger. It was a mixture of all these emotions.”
In the footage uploaded in Facebook, the 64-year old woman wearing the face mask with Nazi insignia defended her stance, saying she’s not a Nazi apologist. She explained that she was only displaying the swastika to symbolize what will happen if voters elect presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Marshall cops responded after being called and then gave the swastika mask-wearing shoppers notices of no-trespassing, but no arrest or filing of charges were made. Reports said the notices serve as warning to the couple if they returned. The couple were not named by both Walmart and the police.
Masks Required
Minnesota has just implemented an executive order of requiring face masks to all citizens in indoor establishments that day. Also, it has also been not long since Walmart also required shoppers to wear masks across all of their stores.
Price of Disrupting Safety
A representative also told that they are banning the unnamed couple from the store for one year. According to Delia Garcia, Walmart spokeswoman, they are not condoning such acts.
She stated: “What happened to our store in Marshall, MN is unacceptable. 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 distressing situation for customers and associates in our store.”
Mueller further noted the impact of displaying the symbol in public. “The swastika is a trigger of trauma for so many people. It’s been shown that trauma gets passed down in the DNA so I know I’m carrying what my great-grandmother went through. I didn’t lose anybody in the Holocaust but I know so many other people did.” She was born in Germany and mentioned that her great-grandmother joined the resistance against Nazis.
