The ridesharing company Uber says it is investigating a case in which young Republicans were abandoned at a gas station and told, “Welcome to the resistance.”
Chris Godbey, executive director of the Young Republicans National Federation, and his peers said they were abruptly told to exit an Uber driver’s car over the weekend after an event near Raleigh, North Carolina. The reason: an anti-Trump “resistance” driver wanted to deliver a message.
“About halfway through the trip our driver said he needed to stop and get gas,” said Mary Russell, a federation volunteer, the Daily Caller reported Monday. “Then he quickly turned off and stopped the car and said, ’your ride has been terminated and you’ve reached your destination — and I have the right to deny you service. And so, we were all shocked. … And then he drove off and said, ’welcome to the resistance.’”
The pair said the incident happened Saturday at about 10 p.m. EST. They claim their rhetoric, although political, wasn’t incendiary or controversial.
“I was a little dumbfounded by the reaction [the driver] had,” Mr. Godbey said. “The reason why we were sitting in this gas station now, unsure of where we were, and quite frankly not really that safe because we were just at a random gas station off the interstate, was something that I was immediately worried about.
If anyone can get ahold of the contact information for these volunteers, please let me know and I will be glad to personally send each of them a $100 credit for Lyft. They’re doing incredible work!https://t.co/l3RGkPPKOb
— Mark Meadows (@MarkMeadows) July 16, 2018
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Ms. Russell received an email from Uber the next day claiming the group made the driver uncomfortable, although she maintained nothing warranted a ride termination.
Republican Rep. Mark Meadows entered the story the next day by offering the volunteers a $100 credit for Lyft, one of Uber’s competitors.
A spokesman for Uber told the Daily Caller that it was further examining the incident.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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