Health food store owners arrested and dramatically charged by police after banning masks are QAnon fans posting wild anti-vaccine conspiracy theories online.
Police swooped on the Organic Whole Food store in Bowral, in NSW’s Southern Highlands, after the owners refused to wear masks, or allow customers to enter wearing masks, on Thursday.
Signs outside the store also prohibited entry to the store if they were wearing a mask, or if they had been vaccinated against Covid in the last 14 days, a policy they have had for more than a year.
A customer at the store caught the arrests of the two middle-aged owners on camera and posted the footage on social media.
But the store’s Instagram account reveals that the owners’ posts suddenly took a dark turn nearly a year ago until the day they were sucked into the QAnon cult.
The store’s social media has dramatically changed from six years of posts about healthy eating and photos of fruits and vegetables, seen here, to an almost non-stop stream of Covid conspiracy theories.
Store owners (pictured left and right) are seen in a confrontation with police when they were arrested in Bowral, after the public alerted them that the store had banned the wearing of masks.
His social media has drastically changed from six years of sporadic posts about healthy eating and pictures of fruits and vegetables to an almost non-stop stream of Covid conspiracy theories.
On June 29, 2020, they began posting anti-vaccine quotes which quickly escalated to multiple times daily posts featuring Covid QAnon-style memes and US election conspiracy theories.
QAnon is a debunked far-right conspiracy theory that claims a cabal of cannibalistic and satanic pedophiles run a global child sex trafficking ring and conspired against former President Donald Trump while he was in office.
He has a cult following and played a major role in the US uprising on January 6 over the results of the presidential election.
In late August, the store published a series of QAnon posts, including a T-shirt with the slogan reading, “A Great Awakening.” They added a caption: ‘It’s happening. Trust the plan.
They added another post the same day with what appears to be the back of his t-shirt bearing a letter Q and the cult’s motto ‘WWG1WGA’ – ‘Where we go one, we go all’.
The caption added: ‘Everyone needs to get together. We have to wake up.
In late August, they released a series of QAnon posts, including a T-shirt bearing the cult’s “A Great Awakening” slogan (pictured left). They added a caption: ‘It’s happening. Trust the plan. They added another post on the same day (right) with what appears to be the back of his t-shirt with a letter Q and the cult’s motto ‘WWG1WGA’ – ‘Where we go one, we go all’.
Three days later, they posted a photo of the QAnon logo (pictured)
Three days later, they posted a picture of the QAnon logo, followed by 96 other posts over the next year, mostly attacking vaccination programs, mask wearing, government efforts to fight covid, and even hand sanitizer. hands.
Her post likes went from a handful for her posts about healthy eating to 432 for a post four days ago that read, ‘No mask? We will not ask. Safe space for everyone
They added in the caption: ‘Our reasons are clear. 1. Hygiene: Mask wearers touch them constantly. Do they have 3 min, 3 days or 3 months? We are an open food store. Inappropriate.
‘two. Depleted O2 could lead to a blackout or worse in store. It’s not nice. 3. We like to listen to our clients’ requests and see their happy faces. Don’t gag them. 4. Simple really. Not the law.
Other posts focused on fake anti-vaccine news about vaccines claiming that masks were not effective or that governments are lying about the pandemic.
Instagram flagged many of the shop’s posts as false or misleading with links to fact-checking websites, or even hiding the post entirely unless users clicked through to view it.
Google reviews for the store also jumped from five stars to one star a year ago when stunned customers complained that “rude” and “weird” owners forbade anyone from wearing masks.
One Google critic, Joanne Laxton, said she was told at the store, “We don’t allow masks to be worn in this store.” I’m a nurse; they (masks) carry pathogens.’
Laxton added: ‘What a lovely welcome to this shop by, presumably, the owner on my first visit.
I am at high risk for COVID-19 because I recently had cancer and radiation therapy. Are you kidding? I would give zero stars if possible.’
Another one star reviewer said: ‘I had a horrible experience with the owner, he lectured me at check in. Telling me that he only caters to regular customers and people he knows personally. Very rude and arrogant owner.
The standoff with authorities came to a head on Thursday when the owners were arrested in a violent confrontation with police.
The video showed the owner being shoved into the back of a police van by two police officers.
When the male owner intervened to oppose his arrest, officers grabbed him, threw him against the back of the truck, and then threw him to the ground.
“For over an hour and a half, the police discussed this with the owners,” the post said.
‘A client and a friend decided to film the discussion; that’s when it all started. They refused to allow the filming and attempted to force her out of the store.
Police said on Friday they had been tipped off about the store and upon arrival found the manager, 62, without a mask, who was arrested when she allegedly refused to comply.
A customer, 61, also entered the store without wearing a mask and was also arrested when she also allegedly refused to wear one after being confronted by police.
A police statement said that as the two women were being led into a police vehicle, a 63-year-old man attempted to intervene and removed a police sergeant’s mask, before he too was arrested.
The Organic Store in Bowral is very outspoken about its anti-Covid views, with a blackboard outside the store prohibiting customers who have recently been vaccinated or wearing a mask, which is mandatory in NSW.
The man was charged with assaulting an officer, resisting police, and inciting to resist or hindering police. He was released on bail.
The client was fined $200 for violating the mask rules and both women were released, with possible changes and violations pending further investigation into other violations of the Public Health Order, police said.
The owners had accused an officer of putting his hands behind her back and pushing her out of the store.
The video showed the merchant approaching the officers as they were trying to put the owner into the police van, and he asked ‘what have you done?’ when officers warned him to ‘stay away’.
After the woman was pushed into the truck, the owner was immediately grabbed by an officer, to whom he yelled ‘don’t touch me’ as the woman filming is heard yelling ‘Mark, Mark!’
The officers then pushed the owner against the back of the truck with enough force to knock the cap off his head and shoved a hand into his face.
An officer warned him to ‘stop resisting, you’re under arrest’ and he responded ‘what about this fat guy’ referring to another officer?
The man, who was being restrained by two officers, was then tripped by a third and pushed facing the trail.
Since the NSW government imposed a lockdown on Saturday, all people entering shops, workplaces and any indoor public space have been required to wear masks when inside.
.