Two employees at a Smoothie King franchise in Ann Arbor, Michigan, were terminated after refusing to serve a customer who was wearing a hoodie supporting President Donald Trump, according to the company, as reported by The New York Post.

The incident occurred on Sunday when Erika Lindemyer and her husband, Jake Lindemyer, entered the store. A video recorded by Erika captured a confrontation between the couple and two young female employees.

The workers told the couple they did not “feel comfortable” serving them because of Jake’s pro-Trump hoodie.

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In the video, Erika confronted the employees over the refusal.

“We were just wanting a smoothie, and you literally looked at us, and I asked you if everything was OK, and you said ‘We don’t feel comfortable serving you’ because of my husband’s hoodie. That is discrimination,” Erika said.

“Okay, well, have a great day,” the first employee responded.

“That is illegal,” Erika replied.

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“I said Trump discriminates [against] us,” another employee said.

“Okay, well that has nothing to do with us getting a smoothie!” Erika responded.

“OK, well that’s who you support though, that’s who you love,” the first employee said.

“What’s embarrassing is that we’re American citizens, and I wanted to get a smoothie,” Erika said.

The second employee stated that they “have a right to refuse service” and directed the couple toward the exit.

“You asked a question and [the other employee] gave you an answer. Have a great day. Have a great day. The door’s right there,” the second worker said.

BREAKING – Smoothie King is facing mass calls to fire the entire crew at its Ann Arbor, Michigan location after they refused to serve two customers simply for being Trump supporters.

Black privilege at its finest.

Number provided, you know what to do. pic.twitter.com/DtICm2alPC

— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) March 2, 2026

Erika indicated in the video that she planned to contact law enforcement as she left the store. It is unclear whether police were ultimately called.

In a separate video posted Monday, one of the employees involved addressed the situation and referenced the online reaction.

“I am a minor, and she recorded me without my permission. The people in the comments are all white, and they’re all being hella racist, guys, please help me get this video taken down,” she said.

She also stated that she might have “accidentally started a race war.”

Following the viral circulation of the footage, Smoothie King confirmed that the employees involved were no longer employed as of Monday.

“As a brand, Smoothie King is committed to ensuring our stores are a place free of discrimination of any kind, where every guest and team member is treated with care and respect,” the company wrote on X.

As a brand, Smoothie King is committed to ensuring our stores are a place free of discrimination of any kind, where every guest and team member is treated with care and respect.
Following an investigation into an incident involving a guest who was refused service at a franchised

— Smoothie King (@SmoothieKing) March 2, 2026

The owner of the Ann Arbor franchise location said mandatory retraining would be implemented for staff to reinforce guest service standards.

The confrontation comes months after another incident involving political apparel.

In early December, a woman working at a Target store in California was confronted by a customer over a Charlie Kirk “Freedom” T-shirt she was wearing.

When the employee maintained she was permitted to wear the shirt, the customer accused her of supporting “a racist.”

The medical center where that customer was employed later received approximately 6,000 “profanity-laced” phone calls after her personal information was shared online.

The Ann Arbor incident remains a focus of discussion on social media following the termination of the employees and the company’s statement.

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