Florida AG, Republican Pam Bondi, Heckled At Mister Rogers Movie Over Immigration Stance
Just a day after a Virginia restaurant refused to serve press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Republican, got heckled at a showing of a documentary about Mister Rogers.
According to an ABC News report, protesters from Organize Florida confronted Pam Bondi after she saw Won’t You Be My Neighbor at a Tampa movie theater. Police escorted her out when she left.
Protesters felt Bondi is a bad neighbor for her support of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, as well as Florida’s inclusion in a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act. Republican officials have experienced protests at public places three times recently, due to Donald Trump’s controversial immigration policy that separated families at the border. Both Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders ended up leaving restaurants because of people expressing outrage over the president’s policies.
The Inquisitr reported that Red Hen received a rash of politically motivated Yelp reviews after news hit that the restaurant asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her family to leave and refused to serve her. Ultimately, the website had to review the page’s reviews due to violations of Yelp policies for posting reviews.
Protester Maria Jose Chapa yelled at Bondi as she walked out of the theater surrounded by police.
“What would Mister Rogers think about you and your legacy in Florida? Taking away health insurance from people with pre-existing conditions, Pam Bondi!” Chapa shouted. Another protester shouted at the Florida attorney general, “You’re a horrible person!”
Pam Bondi attempted to attend a screening of the Mister Rogers documentary a day after announcing her plan to end protections for health care consumers with pre-existing conditions. Here, via @timintampa, is what happened. pic.twitter.com/zMLrSayS8M
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 23, 2018
Progressive activist Timothy Heberlein of Organize Florida took a video of the confrontation outside the theater, and he posted it to Twitter. Onlookers in the area appeared shocked by the demonstration.
Speaking about what Mister Rogers would think, Bondi doesn’t feel the neighborly children’s show host would have condoned the protesters’ actions.
“We were in a movie about anti-bullying and practicing peace and love and tolerance and accepting of people for their differences, That’s what Mister Rogers is all about. We all believe in free speech, but there’s a big difference there,” she said in an interview.
According to a report from Tamba Bay Times, the group did not initially plan to confront Bondi at the theater, but one of the members spotted Bondi in the ticket line and attempted to engage her in a discussion about her recent healthcare actions. Bondi did not want to discuss the topic, and the group hung around the protest after the film was over.
During that time, police received a call to help escort the attorney general from the theater, and they responded as the movie ended with no further incident.
Heberlein felt glad the group confronted Bondi.
“If you refuse to meet with us, we’re coming to where you’re at. We’re coming to where you’re watching a movie or eating dinner. Sorry, not sorry,” he said.
