A political commentator for Fox News was allegedly kicked out of a North Miami bookstore and restaurant for speaking about politics.
Paradis Books and Bread has closed its doors for a while after the incident with analyst Gianno Caldwell.
The situation is getting a lot of attention on social media.
Caldwell tweeted after the incident saying he was in disbelief this had happened.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
"I can't believe what just happened. I met up with friends for breakfast at Paradis Books and Bread in North Miami & while we were having discussions about politics, we were told by the owner that we were not welcomed there because we aren't politically aligned. Outrageous," Caldwell tweeted.
He also sent NBC 6 this statement:
Local
"In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King said: 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' My experience at Paradis Books and Bread in North Miami is a clear case of discrimination that should not be tolerated in Florida or anywhere in America," the statement read. "Whether liberal or conservative, no one should ever be asked to leave a place of business for engaging in political conversation in a respectful dialogue. Paradis is promoting a sort of political segregation that hearkens back to the days of the Jim Crow South and runs counter to the restaurant’s harm reduction policy."
The restaurant is located on West Dixie Highway around Northeast 128th street.
On Sunday, the business was closed and on Instagram, they posted they were starting their winter break early instead of on January 29th.
They also posted a caption on Instagram that read in part: “A group of people came in, ordered their food, sat in the inside corner, and talked quite loudly for over an hour. A lot of what they were discussing was very troubling, specifically when talking about women in degrading ways, as well as using eugenic arguments around their thoughts on Roe v. Wade. Their behavior and their words made other folks in the space as well as the one of us working very uncomfortable. Once it was clear that they were finished with their meal, we told them that our views don't align, and that the language they were using was unwelcome in our space. One person in the group said 'that is your business model, and I respect that' as a space co-owned by black folks and women, we firmly stand by our zero tolerance policy.”
NBC 6 reached out to the business for an interview, but have not heard back. Caldwell said he wouldn’t be interviewed because he works exclusively with Fox News.
