A man wearing a ‘Jesus Saves’ T-shirt was ordered to remove the clothing or leave the Mall of America last weekend in a video that has gone viral on social media. A security guard at the nation’s most famous shopping center in Minnesota can be heard telling the man: ‘If you want to shop here you need to take off that shirt’.
Another clip shows the same guard saying: ‘Jesus is associated with religion and it is offending people. People have been offended.’ The video which was recorded on January 7 has prompted outrage online with one group organizing a protest at the Mall where they intend to wear their own ‘Jesus Saves’ shirts.
A spokesman for Mall of America told DailyMail.com that the man was allowed to remain in the Mall following the interaction while still wearing his shirt. This is despite the fact guards can clearly be heard threatening to kick him out.
In the original clip, the shopper is seen in a yellow T-shirt branding the religious slogan. The back of the shirt reads ‘Jesus is the only way’ while the popular ‘coexist’ – symbol – which advocates different religions living alongside each other peacefully – is crossed out.
The videos have now been shared across TikTok and Twitter while one was live-streamed to Facebook on January 7. One week prior, he had also been issued with a 24-hour trespass for ‘soliciting guests’. During the tense exchange, three security guards surround the man.
He can be heard saying: ‘I didn’t say anything though. I didn’t speak. I didn’t say anything. I just went to Macy’s.’ The guard replies: ‘Again, I’m giving you a couple of options. You can take the shirt off and you can go to Macy’s and you can do your shopping.
‘Or you can leave the mall, OK? Those are your only options right now,.’ The officer later claims he was engaging in ‘religious soliciting,’ which the Mall forbids.
However, the man insists throughout the video that he was not attempting to preach but was simply wearing the shirt while shopping. Mall policies prohibit ‘inappropriate attire,’ including apparel that ‘has obscene language, obscene gestures or racial/religious/ethnic slurs that are likely to create a disturbance.’
The Mall also forbids ‘picketing, demonstrating, soliciting, protesting or petitioning.’ The man was asked on a different day to leave the mall because he was preaching. This time, however, he appears to have just walked around the mall. (SOURCE)
