Restaurant vandalized after political event in Palm Springs
Palm Springs police are searching for at least two suspects who vandalized a local business over the weekend.
It happened after dozens of customers vowed to boycott a Palm Springs restaurant following a political event regarding the Republican candidate for the U.S House of Representatives, Dan Ball.
According to police, early Saturday morning, a person was seen spray painting, what appears to read, “Dan Ball supporter”, on a door at Wang’s in the Desert in Palm Springs. The vandalism comes after Ball posted a photo on Facebook alongside a Wang’s employee at a campaign event.
“We contacted them (Wang’s in the Desert) a few hours before the event. We said we would come with a small group. They said great. That was Dec. 28. We took the picture that evening. I posted Jan. 6 and nothing was said,” Ball said.
On Wednesday, hundreds joined a conversation aimed to boycott the well known, gay friendly restaurant. CBS Local 2 and KESQ News Channel 3’s Lauren Coronado spoke with a manager at Wang’s, who says the incident is a misunderstanding and explained he understands the frustration from the LGBT community. Wang’s management also posted a statement to their Facebook page, reading in part;
“Wang’s in the Desert did not sponsor, endorse, or contribute to Mr. Ball’s political campaign; we served him as we would any Palm Springs customer.”
“We’ve went from horrible slurs online to someone vandalizing a business. That’s not tolerance and that city has always been about tolerance. I would like to see the the leaders of that city, I would like to see Congressman Ruiz condemn not only this vandalism but this boycott against Wang’s,” Ball said.
Ruiz’s campaign office did respond. Campaign Manager Andy Colgan released a statement reading:
“Dr. Ruiz believes vandalism in any form is unacceptable and there is no place for it in civil discourse. He encourages anyone with information to come forward to law enforcement.”
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
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