A woman in Colorado recently posted a video on TikTok where she criticized a man she saw at a restaurant in downtown Montrose for wearing what appeared to be an ICE-branded shirt. She said it looked to her as though he wore the shirt to send a message to immigrants that they were unwelcome and should feel afraid. The clip, which has now gained thousands of views, has many netizens divided on whether the TikTok creator had turned it into a big issue or not.
In the video, the woman said she had been out to dinner when she noticed the man wearing a black T-shirt featuring what looked like an ICE logo on the back. She said although she couldn’t tell whether he worked for the agency or not, it made her “angry beyond words” that he had worn a shirt she believed represented “hate.”
“He appeared to be shameless, fearless, like no one would dare to say anything to him,” the woman said. “My read, and maybe someone else has a different read, but my read is, you’re wearing that T-shirt and you’re signalling clearly, you are not welcome here to immigrants.”
The video included images showing the man standing inside the restaurant while wearing the shirt, but his face was never visible. According to the TikToker, he appeared to be dining with a woman and another couple.
Public Reactions Split Over Colorado Woman’s Interpretation
In the comments section under the post, many people dismissed the woman’s concerns and questioned why she was focused on another person’s clothing choices. “So you are the shirt police!” one person wrote. Another commented, “What business is it of yours what somebody else wears?” A third asked, “Why are you taking pictures of strangers in public?” A fourth chimed in, “So ppl you don’t approve of, aren’t allowed to go out in public pic [sic] anymore?”
At the same time, a few netizens agreed with the woman’s interpretation, with one comment saying that the shirt felt like “pure intimidation.” Someone else wrote that they found it “sad and enraging,” while another said it was “absolutely unforgivable” that he did what he did.
The woman also added in the comments that she later alerted other people inside the restaurant, including the bartender and the person she was dining with, though it remains unclear whether anything came of it.
