The New York Times reports:
Protesters gathered on Saturday outside a hat store in Nashville that sold “not vaccinated” Star of David patches and compared vaccine passports to the Nazi practice of requesting “your papers.”
The store, Hatwrks, said on Instagram in a post that was later deleted that it was selling the patches for $5. Amid an outbreak of anti-Semitic attacks across the country, the post was criticized on social media and outside the store, where protesters held signs saying “no Nazis in Nashville” and “sell hats not hate.”
A separate post to the store’s Instagram account — which also touted “mask free shopping” and promoted the conspiracy theory that vaccines have microchips in them — said that “all unvaccinated people will be segregated from society, marked and must wear a mask. What comes next?”
The New York Daily News reports:
Hat companies who sell their products through hatWRKS were quick to respond to the postings and separate themselves from the owner. “To be clear, we do not condone or agree with the views of this individual,” wrote the global hat brand Goorin Bros. on Twitter. “We are investigating internally what actions can be taken and how quickly.”
Another apparel brand, Stetson, ended their relationship with the store entirely. “As a result of the offensive content and opinions shared by HatWRKS in Nashville, Stetson and our distribution partners will cease the sale of Stetson products,” the company tweeted. “We thank you for your continued support and patience.”
As you can see below, not only did the store take a federal bailout, it appears that the owner was at the insurrection.
We are aware of the situation in Nashville. We take this matter seriously and are investigating in order to take the necessary and appropriate next steps. Along with our distribution partners, Stetson condemns antisemitism and discrimination of any kind.
— John B. Stetson (@StetsonUSA) May 29, 2021
As a result of the offensive content and opinions shared by HatWRKS in Nashville, Stetson and our distribution partners will cease the sale of all Stetson products. We thank you for your continued support and patience.
— John B. Stetson (@StetsonUSA) May 29, 2021
@FBI her name is Gigi Gaskins and she owns hatWRKS in Nashville TN. Just an FYI. pic.twitter.com/k63d7d1hyK
— Elle (@PhdEnviro) May 29, 2021
1/2 Anti-Semitism. Hate. Ignorance. A shop hatWRKS in Nashville TN is selling Yellow “Not Vaccinated” Stars. Open and abhorrent mocking of Jews who were round up, separated from their families, carted off to concentrations camps and gassed to death. Many levels beyond disgusting. pic.twitter.com/WcUuuXdTdj
— Don Lewis (@DonLew87) May 28, 2021
Tell us more about that Tyranny you’ve been experiencing from government, HatWRKS with your $93K in PPP loans pic.twitter.com/c6purdJaDe
— Vincenzo (@HeHateV) May 28, 2021