A black man in Illinois allegedly called police on a group of Hispanic vendors because he did not want them setting up shop in his predominantly black neighborhood.
The video began with the man filming himself standing in front of the Hispanic vendors. He repeatedly told them, “Y’all can’t set up shop over here.” He objected to them selling in his neighborhood and told them, “It’s gonna be your first and last day setting up shop in our neighborhood.”
While the resident confronted the vendors, they stared at him in silence and appeared to continue preparing their shop. He began using curse words while addressing them before telling them to go to their other neighborhood. Viewers online assumed he was referring to a Hispanic neighborhood.
At this point, a police car arrived at the scene, with the upset resident allegedly having called the officers. “Ask them where their licenses at,” he repeatedly told the officers. He then asked the vendors the same question, but they did not respond. The man then told them to go to a “Latino” neighborhood.
An officer then approached him as he was still asking the Hispanic vendors where their licenses were. “Are they even legal?” he asked. The officer attempted to address him, but he kept repeating the same question and told the officer to ask the vendors about it. He then questioned why they had to come to a black neighborhood.
As the officer tried to speak with the man again, he appeared to assume that the officer was not going to check the vendors’ licenses. This led to a back-and-forth exchange between the two. The officer then went to speak with one of the vendors while the neighbor continued repeating the same statements. He eventually asked loudly whether the vendors even spoke English.
This prompted the officer to address him again, but he responded by repeating “license” several times and telling the officer, “You ain’t got ask me nothing.” The man then added, “I’m a Trump supporter. Put it like that.”
He continued filming the vendors as they appeared to proceed with setting up their shop. While the officer continued trying to speak with him, he began checking the number on the police car. He also asked the officer and his partner for their names and badge numbers.
After getting the information he had requested, the resident began claiming that, as a black man, he could not go to a Hispanic neighborhood and set up shop in the same way the vendors were doing. “Oh, no, I can’t,” he repeatedly said.
The man then referred to the Hispanic vendors as “illegal immigrants,” despite there being no official information about their legal status. The video ended with him filming the officer speaking with the vendors while telling the officer to ask them to pack up their belongings. It remains unclear what happened next.
Viewers Side With Illinois Man Over Confrontation With Vendors
Many viewers sided with the black Illinois man and supported his objections to the Hispanic vendors setting up shop in his neighborhood. Some comments also targeted the vendors based on their ethnicity. “Should’ve called ICE,” one person wrote. Another said, “We don’t want them in our neighborhoods. Go to there neighborhood and setup shop. They prove they are loyal to Trump and maga. So go sell to them.”
More viewers agreed with the man and the arguments he made during the confrontation. “But if a black american went to a street corner that’s predominantly Hispanic. He/She wouldn’t even be able to set the tables up. Without being surrounded by them and the police called and en route. Some [expletive]. Double standard [expletive],” one person wrote. Another said, “These cops are complicit with this illegal sidewalk selling and overtaking black communities with illegals. This is [expletive] and I’m not even black.”
In the end, what began as a dispute over vendors setting up in the neighborhood quickly became a much bigger argument about race, belonging, and how neighbors should handle their differences. While viewers disagreed over the vendors themselves, many questioned whether calling the police was really necessary, particularly when the situation could potentially have been resolved with a conversation instead.
