Idaho Coffee Shop Owner Defends Ousting 15-Person Pro-Life Group as Death Threats Mount
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 20
Idaho Coffee Shop Owner Defends Ousting 15-Person Pro-Life Group as Death Threats Mount
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 20
Summary
Jim Sheehan said he and his wife have received "nonstop death threats" after a video showed him telling a Students for Life group to leave Wydaho Roasters in Driggs.
About 15 attendees had gathered to discuss a proposed Idaho ballot measure that would legalize abortion up to 24 weeks, but Sheehan said he had asked on Facebook the day before that they not hold the meeting there.
Video shows Sheehan telling the group to meet at the public library and comparing the request to hosting the KKK; he later said that analogy was a mistake.
Kristan Hawkins said the group bought food and drinks before being ejected and alleged staff turned up the music to disrupt them, while Sheehan argued he was protecting his business from association with a cause he opposes.
The clash has turned a local dispute into a wider flashpoint over whether politically identified businesses can refuse meetings tied to abortion activism in a state where most abortions remain illegal.