MAYHILL, N.M. (KRQE) – A convenience store in southern New Mexico has been under fire for posting anti-Obama and anti-Muslim signs on its storefront window. Now, an advocacy group has filed a complaint because of the store’s denial of service to Muslims.
In the little mountain town of Mayhill sits the Mayhill Store. From the road, the store may look like any other, but if you take a closer look you may be shocked at what you see.
A series of racist and offensive signs cover the store’s front windows.
“A few months ago it came to our attention that a store in New Mexico was carrying signage that was attempting to deny Muslims service and that is illegal,” said Gadeir Abbas, CAIR senior litigation attorney.
CAIR, the Council of American-Islamic relations is the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the country.
Now, the group has filed a civil rights complaint with the state’s Department of Workforce Solutions against the convenience store.
“We want to make it very clear that no retail establishment is allowed to exclude Muslim customers from their store. That’s a violation of federal law and we expect him and other store owners to comply with federal law,” Abbas said.
According to a current store employee, they are following the law. The sign on the storefront that once said “Obama and other Muslims are not welcome” has now been changed to “Obama and Marlon McWilliams are not welcome.” McWilliams is a former store employee.
The store employee did not want to go on camera but claims the ACLU told them the signs were all legal under the first amendment.
“He’s an outlier that I hope will realize the error of his ways and take corrective action and if not, we expect the agency and ourselves to fill in those gaps,” Abbas added.
CAIR says the next steps to correct this issue will be taken by local law enforcement and they will be following it closely to ensure everyone is welcome at the establishment.
—-Send a Breaking News TipReport an error or typoLearn about the KRQE apps
