A man who once threatened to ‘hound’ LGBTQ supporters films himself urging PetSmart employees to take down the Pride flag as it promotes ‘pedophilia and the sexualization of children’.
- Ethan Schmidt, an Arizona-based agent provocateur, filmed his interaction with a pet store clerk
- Schmidt pointed to a flag at the checkout and asked the employee: “I’m just curious, what kind of flag is that?”
- When told it is a pride flag, he urges the worker to take it down because it promotes “pedophilia and the sexualization of children.”
- The staff refuses to take it off and then tells Schmidt to leave the store
A conservative social media influencer posted a video on Twitter demanding that PetSmart remove an LGBTQ pride flag hanging in its store.
Ethan Schmidt, an Arizona-based agent provocateur who has posted videos of prominent conservatives in the past, points to a flag at the register and asks the clerk, “I’m just curious, what’s that flag over there?”
The employee replies, “I think it’s a Pride flag.”
The mustache-wearing social media influencer then asks her to delete it “immediately.” When she asks why, he replies, “Because it offends me a lot.”
Ethan Schmidt, an Arizona-based agent provocateur, filmed his interactions with pet store employees
Schmidt points to the flag at the checkout and asks the employee: “What kind of flag is that?”
When the mustachioed social media influencer learns from the staffer that it’s a Pride flag, he begs her to take it down “immediately.” When she asks why, he replies, “Because it offends me a lot.”
A manager came along and said the company supports the LGBTQ community and they would not lower the flag
At some point, a third employee comes along and asks Schmidt to be stricter
The woman at the register then gets on her walkie-talkie to contact her manager, while Schmidt goes on to say, “This stuff is satanic. We can’t have that, especially at PetSmart.”
When the manager arrives, Schmidt repeats the whole charade, asking what the flag is for and asking for it to be removed after being told it’s a pride flag.
The manager explains he won’t be taking it off and that PetSmart supports “belonging,” which includes the LGBTQ community.
Schmidt replies that the rainbow flag “represents pedophilia and the sexualization of children” and asks the manager if he supports it, adding: “Respect your customers and please take them down for me”.
PetSmart’s manager reiterates that the company supports the LGBTQ community.
Schmidt is a well-known right-wing provocateur who has posted videos featuring prominent conservatives in the past
In one video, Schmidt is endorsed by Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee and Trump ally Kari Lake
Lake is a Trump ally running against Karrin Taylor Robson, who was endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence
Schmidt raises his voice slightly and calls the flag “the rainbow satan” and argues that the true rainbow is from God.
He then asks the cashier he originally confronted if she supports pedophilia and child sexualization, and she replies that she merely supports the LGBTQ community.
The man then addresses the suggestion that the LGBTQ community is “fostering” children.
The supervisor then accuses Schmidt of breaking the law because they already asked him to leave before the cashier called another employee.
The third employee immediately had enough of Schmidt: “All right, you have to get out, bud. Come on. We don’t need it here. We will fly the Pride flag. We have it all over our store.’
Schmidt then declares, “Shame on Petco,” to which the third employee replies, “That’s PetSmart.”
This isn’t the first time Schmidt has alienated the LGBTQ community. In May, he posted a video on social media saying he likes to “hunt” LGBTQ supporters and that he would go on “hunting expeditions” around Arizona in response to Target’s Pride campaign, according to Yahoo.
Laughing, he said in the video: “Keep that in mind because if you’re supporting the LGBT agenda, you’re not safe.”
Schmidt has appeared in videos with the likes of Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar and Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, a Trump ally running against Karrin Taylor Robson, who was backed by former Vice President Mike Pence.