Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, shared video she says shows her being told to leave Wydaho Roasters in Idaho while meeting with others about pro-life organizing. Hawkins told CBN News the coffee shop’s owner, Jim Sheehan, compared pro-lifers to the Ku Klux Klan during the exchange, which she recorded and later posted.
What Hawkins says happened
Hawkins said she, her son, and others met at the cafe to discuss opposing Proposition 1, an abortion measure slated for the November ballot. “We’re recruiting door knockers, and we’ve had students going door to door, educating people in Idaho about this extreme abortion ballot referendum,” she told CBN News. She said the group had already purchased drinks and food when Sheehan told them they could not meet there and needed to leave.
According to Hawkins, Sheehan compared the group to the KKK. “He… compared us to the KKK and said… pro-lifers were like the KKK,” she told CBN News, explaining that is why she released the video. Hawkins also said she believes he was within his rights to refuse service, adding, “I was within my rights to expose his… believing that community members were like the KKK, but neither of us deserves to die or receive death threats.”
What the owner says
Sheehan pushed back on the claim the group was “kicked out.” He told Fox News he had already asked the group via Facebook not to meet at his business. “Sunday she announced on a local community page they were holding this meeting at our business, naming it — I responded to the post politely asking them not to use our business as the agenda of the organization does not align with us,” he said. “They showed up anyway.”
