A man wearing a T-shirt that says “Jesus Saves” was ordered to remove the garment or leave the Mall of Americabranch of the mall chain in Minnesota (USA). “Jesus is the only way”said the back of the shirt, with the popular symbol of “coexist” (symbol that advocates that religions coexist peacefully) crossed out.
A mall security guard can be heard saying to the man on approach:
“If you want to shop here, you need to take that shirt off.”
Another video that went viral on social media shows the same guard saying:
“Jesus is associated with religion and he is offending people. People were offended.”
Afterwards, the security guard claimed that the man, whose identity was not revealed, was involved in “religious solicitation”which violates mall regulations.
However, the man approached insists throughout the video that wasn’t trying to preach, but simply wearing the shirt while shopping. He said he just wanted to shop at Macy’s.
Mall policies prohibit “inappropriate attire”including clothing that “contains obscene language, obscene gestures, or racial/religious/ethnic slurs that may be disruptive.”
The incident, which took place on January 7, sparked outrage on the networks. A religious group called the Bloomington Patriots is organizing a protest at the mallwhere you intend to use your own “Jesus Saves” T-shirts or other similar messages.
A Mall of America spokesperson told the Daily Mail that the man was allowed to remain at the mall.