Cheesecake Factory: Anti-vax diners booted out of NYC outlet, 6 arrested
Six protesters were detained after refusing to leave a Cheesecake Factory located in Queens on Tuesday night (December 14). Eric Bascon, 38, Mitchell Bosch, 42, Augusto Alarcon, 39, Steven Wavra, 67, Graig Young, 37, and Raymond Velez, 36, were detained after refusing to "comply with a legal order”.
Police were dispatched to the Queens Center Cheesecake Factory, located at 90-15 Queens Boulevard, in response to a 911 report for criminal trespassing. When the cops arrived at the restaurant, they noticed a "big group" of individuals. The lady who phoned stated in an interview to the Business Insider that the group went in and wanted to be seated, at which time she demanded evidence of vaccination, as required by NYC's indoor eating law. The crowd, on the other hand, refused and stormed into the restaurant, where they sat at multiple tables, according to recordings. Despite being asked multiple times, they refused to leave.
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"The manager is asking you to leave, that's their decision. If you guys refuse to leave we're going to give you every opportunity to leave but if you eventually refuse to leave when we tell you to leave we will be arresting you," one officer informed the group members, as seen in a video of the incident.
One of the people arrested compared the police to Nazis. An antivaxxer responds, “we’re going to sue every last one of these MFers.” Others claim this is “discrimination” and “segregation” as the trespassers are loaded into an NYPD vehicle. pic.twitter.com/vkp6w34VLA
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) December 15, 2021
One of the demonstrators answered by declaring that the group was not trespassing but rather attempting to "access the Cheesecake Factory's business and services." After initial arguments, police started arresting protesters, while they refused to leave out of the restaurant. Some even yelled that the cops were "Nazis" imposing "segregation".
A group of 30 + antivaxxers claiming to be doing a “sit in” refused to check in at the host stand, skipped waiting customers, and sat themselves across multiple tables in a Cheesecake Factory in NYC.
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) December 15, 2021
They are now arguing with police. One antivaxxer compared the police to Nazis. pic.twitter.com/elFKOoTZ98
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the police car, screaming "let them go". Others referred to those who were detained as "f**king heroes," vowing to "sue every last one of these mother f**king", referring to the police stationed at the location.
The occurrence was described as "an ordeal" by the Cheesecake Factory. "Unfortunate circumstance as the corporation is merely following local regulations about Covid-19 vaccination obligations. We would like to thank our restaurant managers and staff for remaining focused on providing our guests with delicious, memorable food, and would like to thank local law enforcement for their support during this time," they said in a statement.
