A Ventura, California restaurant owner is being compared to a mafia-style ‘hitman’ for allegedly violating the city’s Coronavirus restrictions by opening his business.
“Are you going to pay my rent?”Anton Van Happen, the owner of Nick the Greek Souvlaki and Gyro House, says to city health inspectors in footage later shared by a reporter for The Daily Caller.
“I followed the rules, I continue to follow the rules and you guys still time after time are giving me citations, telling me I have to close my business! What about my employees?” Van Happen says in the video.
Earlier this month, the city issued a notice to restaurants saying they can “stay open for takeout and delivery, but they have to shut down both indoor and outdoor dining” as coronavirus cases across the state continue to rise, according to a report from Fox Business.
Last week, Van Happen put up signs in the area advertising a protest against the new restrictions, according to KEYT.
“I am trying to start something where all restaurant owners are going to wake up,” Van Happen said at the time. “My calling is to all the other restaurant owners to open your restaurants. If we all open up they can’t do anything.”
Several social media users expressed their support for Van Happen after footage of his confrontation with health inspectors went viral, but not everyone was entirely sympathetic.
“He can’t stand up for his convictions when his Wally is involved. Just another greedy business owner who thinks killing people is fine if he can get rich from it,” said one user. “Nobody cares for the greedy. We care about the lives of the people. If business owners must sacrifice so be it.
The same user later compared Van Happen to a ‘hitman.’
On the positive, it’s refreshing to see progressives calling people something other than “Nazis.”
Nope. There it is.
WIBC host Tony Katz has more in the clip below.
