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Ethan Schmidt, an anti-LGBTQ activist, was removed from a PetSmart branch property on July 23, after he asked the cashier to take down a Pride flag hanging near the cash register.
When Schmidt claimed that the rainbow flag “offends him greatly,” the employee immediately asked the manager to step in. Schmidt continued to slam the Pride flag by saying:
“That stuff is Satanic. We can’t have that.”
When the manager arrived near the payment isle, he explained that he cannot remove the Pride flag because:
“PetSmart supports belonging which includes the LGBTQ”
Despite that, when Schmidt continued insisting that the flag be removed, the manager asked him to leave the store. Another employee also entered the confrontation, saying :
“You got to go bud, come on. We don’t need it here. And you don’t need to film me either. It’s cool but we don’t need it. You want to stand outside it’s cool but we don’t need it. We’re going to have the Pride flag up. We have it all over our store.”
Watch the entire video below:
The employee then proceeded to threaten Ethan Schmidt by saying he would call the police, which finally made him leave the store.
Reacting to Ethan Schmidt’s antics at PetSmart, many comments online slammed his behavior at the store. Several netizens demanded that he educate himself about the LGBTQ community. Many were also enraged to see him attempting to promote detrimental behavior and deemed him to be a 'Karen.' Some also attacked his political stance. A few comments online read:
Who is Ethan Schmidt? Everything to know about the anti-LGBTQ activist seen in PetSmart
Ethan Schmidt has been making headlines ever since he vouched to “hunt” down LGBTQ community supporters, claiming that he was doing “the Lord’s work” by harassing members of the LGBTQ community.
Along with being against LGBTQ rights, the 24-year-old also created an “ANTIMASKERSCLUB” on social media.
In recent years, the activist has been racking up bans across social media platforms for his anti-Semitic and anti-Black rhetoric. This comes after Schmidt attempted to collect money to fund several prejudiced speeches and also claimed that he would be using the funding to allegedly assault people.
The PetSmart disagreement was not the only time Schmidt had visited a retail store asking for Pride flags to be taken down. He continuously targets companies that support the LGBTQ community and spreads disinformation about the Pride movement being Satanic.
A video that surfaced on Twitter recently also showed how Schmidt visited Target and asked employees if they support the “satanic pride propaganda.”
Schmidt has also publicly stood against stricter gun reforms. While holding an AR-15 rifle, he said in a tweet:
“They’re not going to ever take away our guns.”
Due to his political opinions, Republican candidates like House Rep. Paul Gosar and Arizona candidate Kari Lake, who are right-wing and anti-LBGTQ, have publicly shown support for Ethan Schmidt.
