A man was asked to remove his “Jesus Saves” T- shirt or leave the Mall of America while visiting the Minnesota shopping mecca this month.
A video of the incident, which took place Jan. 7, shows a security guard instructing Paul Shoro to remove his shirt because “Jesus is associated with religion and it’s offending people.”
The guard told Mr. Shoro the shirt is treated as religious soliciting, which isn’t allowed at the privately owned mall.
I automatically assumed this was overseas, but it’s right here in America. pic.twitter.com/Q79eUCG7xh</ a>
— John Mason (@LivingGodsTruth) January 12, 2023
Mr. Shoro told security he wasn’t discussing his beliefs with people, that he just went to Macy’s. He admitted he was removed from the mall previously for preaching.
“Again, we’re giving you a couple of options,” one of the security guards said to Mr. Shoro. “You can take your shirt off, you can go to Macy’s and do your shopping, or you can leave the mall. Those are your only options right now.”
The popular “Coexist” symbol, which advocates for inter-religious harmony, is crossed out on the back of the Mr. Shoro’s shirt, which instead says “Jesus is the only way.”
A mall spokesperson told the Daily Mail that Mr. Shoro was allowed to continue shopping with his shirt on after the incident.
Mr. Shoro was issued a 24-hour ban for “soliciting guests” a week before the incident that was caught on camera, according to the U.K. newspaper.
Mr. Shoro said during a YouTube interview that he was handing out pieces of paper with excerpts of scripture on them while at the mall the day of the incident.
People aren’t allowed to wear clothing that has “racial/religious/ethnic slurs that are likely to create a disturbance” at the mall, according to its policy.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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