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After security guards reportedly told him that shoppers were offended, a man was recently ordered to remove a “Jesus Saves” t-shirt from the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.

The Coexist emblem was crossed out and the words “Jesus is the only way” were printed underneath the back of the shirt, as seen in the incident’s video.

One of the guards in the footage told the man, “Jesus is associated with religion and it’s offending people.”

The unknown man was told the shirt could not be worn inside the mall, after talking with the security officers.

“Again sir, it is religious soliciting. There is no soliciting allowed on mall property, which is private property,” he told him in the video captured on January 7.

According to a spokesperson from the Mall of America, the man, who admitted in the widely shared video that he had previously been expelled from the mall for “preaching the gospel,” was given a “24-hour trespass for soliciting guests.”

Including “Picketing, demonstrating, soliciting, protesting or petitioning,” the Mall of America’s website states that soliciting is not allowed under its policies.

Adding that, “There is no soliciting allowed on mall property, which is private property,” the security officers in the video said the man’s shirt was considered “religious soliciting.”

The mall’s dress code stipulates that visitors must wear “suitable attire,” which is defined as “apparel that incorporates vulgar language, obscene gestures, or racial/religious/ethnic slurs that are likely to create a disturbance.”

However, the mall spokesperson told the Daily Mail that the man was ultimately released from his obligation to follow the security guard’s instructions despite the incident.

The representative told the Daily Mail, “After a brief interaction, the guest was not required to change his shirt and was allowed to remain at the Mall.”

But the footage enraged social media users, who claimed the mall had violated the man’s right to freedom of religion.

One user tweeted, “There is no way this should happen in USA. He has a free speech right to wear that shirt, and a freedom of religion right to practice his faith in public places. More people should wear Christian shirts to that mall.”

Some users also suggested that more individuals enter the mall wearing shirts with comparable religious messages.

As another user tweeted, “I am so getting this shirt. We need to march in this shirt. March on the malls.”

Another user also wrote, “I will ship a JESUS SAVES shirt to anyone in Minneapolis area that will where (sic) it to MOA…DM me your size and address.”

In October, the Mall of America infuriated customers by installing metal detectors at the entrances as an additional security measure. Following two accidents involving guns in August, the safety enhancement then came.

But way back in 2015 over the mall’s firearms ban, the move has already been upset inconvenienced shoppers, and angered many Second Amendment advocates.

Following a threat to the Mall of America in 2015, former Republican state representative Tony Cornish of Minnesota stated, “This is completely ridiculous. The complete opposite of what they should be doing, If we’re threatened with an attack, the last thing you want to do is disarm citizens.”

Sources: DailyWire, DailyMail, MallofAmerica

 

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