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An Idaho coffee shop owner says he and his wife have received “nonstop death threats” following a viral confrontation in which he demanded a pro-life group leave his business and compared them to the Ku Klux Klan.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, posted a video to social media on Monday alleging that she and her group were ousted from Wydaho Roasters in Driggs after owner Jim Sheehan learned they were holding a pro-life meeting.
Hawkins told Digital a group of about 15 people had gathered at the café to discuss a prospective ballot measure that would legalize abortion up to 24 weeks in Idaho, where most abortions are currently illegal. Her 16-year-old son, Bear, a fellow with Students for Life, organized the gathering to recruit local volunteers. They also planned to discuss ways to help support moms and families in need in their rural neighborhood, Hawkins said.
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Demonstrators attend an abortion rights rally outside the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Idaho, on May 14, 2022. (Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
According to Hawkins, group members ordered food and drinks before sitting down, at which point Sheehan approached them and said they were not welcome to host their meeting there. Video footage shows Sheehan telling the group to meet at the public library instead.
“This is my place of business,” Sheehan says in the video. “I did a lot of work to get people on the ballot so women would have the right to choose in the state of Idaho, and this is something I do not support, nor does my wife, and it’s our business. So we have that choice.”
When Hawkins asked if he was kicking them out, Sheehan replied, “Did I make it very clear that I did not want you here?”
“It’s like, if the KKK asked to meet here, I would say ‘no,'” Sheehan explained in the recording. “In my world, it’s the same sort of concept.”
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Wydaho Roasters owner Jim Sheehan defended turning away the pro-life group, saying it was his right as a business owner to turn away customers who want to hold meetings for causes he doesn’t support. (iStock)
Sheehan disputed claims that he “kicked out” the group, telling Digital the video posted online was misleading. He said he had politely asked the group on Facebook the day prior not to use his business for their meeting.
“Sunday she announced on a local community page they were holding this meeting at our business naming it — I responded to the post politely asking them not to use our business as the agenda of the organization does not align with us,” Sheehan told Digital. “They showed up anyway.”
Hawkins told Digital they had not seen the social media reply from Sheehan before holding the meeting.
In an interview with Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday, Sheehan acknowledged the KKK comparison was a mistake, stating he “didn’t think through that analogy.”
Sheehan said he and his wife have received “nonstop death threats” since the incident. He defended his right to host groups at his choice and said he objected to his business being associated with a cause that he and his wife adamantly opposed.
“I figured they would respect my wishes and not hold it there,” he told the outlet.
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Wydaho Roasters owner Jim Sheehan said his café is openly liberal and hangs a LGBTQ Pride flag outside. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
Sheehan said his coffee shop is openly liberal, flies the pride flag and hosts LGBTQ coffee meet-ups.
“It’s not a surprise where my stance is on something like that,” he said, adding that promoting a pro-life meeting would go against his fundamental values. “This is one of those black-and-white issues for me,” he said.
Students for Life maintained to Digital that Sheehan’s actions amounted to an ejection, alleging he turned up the café’s music after the interaction to prevent them from speaking.
Hawkins said though the community in Driggs, Idaho, leans liberal, her neighbors are welcoming and friendly regardless of differences in politics, so she said she was shocked by the confrontation.
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“I think it was shocking to see somebody who had obviously said multiple times and in social media posts and has been out the community saying that they were a community organization, coffee shop … you know, everyone’s welcome sign and his rainbow flag is not welcoming to anyone who is a Christian or who is pro-life,” she told Digital.
