Man Says Brewery Asked Him to Remove U.S. and Trump Flags From His Car: ‘We Keep It Apolitical’

A video on X has gone viral with over 2 million views after the General Manager of M Special Brewing Company in California asked a proud American man to remove the U.S. flag and a flag of U.S. President Donald Trump from his car.

The man filming the incident showed up for the annual R&R Motorworks Car Meet hosted at the M Special Brewing Company branch in Goleta, California. The GM said it was the company's policy to keep their events "apolitical," or politically neutral, so as to accommodate people of varying political views. However, X users in the comment section say displaying the American flag is a civil right protected under the Supreme Court of the United States.

According to the video, which was re-shared by @libsoftiktok, the name of the man who filmed the video is Jose Cortez, and his X account can be found at @realJorgeCortez. The footage began with Jorge being greeted by the GM, who identified herself as Kennedy. He immediately informed her that he is recording their encounter, which she appeared to have no issue with.

She wasted no time in letting him know that her company keeps events such as the R&R Motorworks Car Meet "apolitical." In other words, if he wished to take part, he would also need to agree to be politically neutral. This would be an issue for Jorge because on one side of his car was the U.S. flag, and on the other side was a flag of Donald Trump with the texts, "I Will Never Surrender" written across it.

She assured him that he wasn't being targeted for his support of President Donald Trump, and if someone from the opposing political party pulled up, they would get the same treatment. Jorge replied, "I believe in the President of the United States." To which she reaffirmed, "It has nothing to do with this event. And it's nothing against you. . . We don't want to make you feel alienated. The whole point is that we keep it open for everybody, and apolitical. . . And make sure everyone is comfortable."

Then Jorge responded, "I feel pretty comfortable because I'm in America, that's an American flag, and that's an American President.. That's all." He went on to state that the car he brought to the event was a 1969 Chevy Nova, which is an American car.

Dispute Continues Over Event's Political Flag Policy

Kennedy doubled down on the company's policy to ask for the American flag to be removed for its "political" nature, explaining that they only want to keep things neutral. But Jorge stood his ground and said, "It's pretty neutral when I have the American flag. It doesn't become any more neutral to have the American flag in America."

One individual commented, "Would they allow a pride flag to be at their event?????? The American flag is not offensive on our soil!!!! If a person is offended by it, that’s their problem!!!!!"

When Kennedy realized that Jorge wouldn't relent on removing either flag from his car, she would speak with another manager of the situation. Jorge agreed and said, "OK. Talk to your manager and let's proceed this." It's at this moment that she asked him to leave because he was being confrontational.

However, things escalated when Jorge asked for the authorities to be involved in the matter. He said, "So if you're kicking me out, that's fine. Let's have the authorities involved because I know this is private property." But Kennedy didn't want to get the authorities involved.

Ultimately, the GM left to get the law enforcement to address the dispute. According to an update from an X user, Jorge voluntarily left the property. Following the video's spread online, some X users called for a boycott of M Special Brewing Company, citing reports that Pride and transgender flags are displayed at the company's Santa Barbara location.

"Current status: Jorge Cortez (the USMC veteran) posted additional footage of his interaction with the sheriffs. He said the deputies were professional and polite, confirmed it was private property, and he left voluntarily to avoid any trespassing issue. No citation was issued. He also pushed back on staff claims that he was “causing a disturbance” or being argumentative, saying he was just talking cars with other attendees. M Special Brewing Company has not issued any public statement, apology, or clarification. . . boycott calls appeared on X, with people sharing the brewery’s contact info (info@mspecialbrewco.com) and noting local spots that carry their beer so others can avoid them. The pride/trans flag contrast (including reports of a trans flag at their Santa Barbara location) continues to drive most of the online reaction."

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the claims made by those involved beyond the videos and posts shared on X. M Special Brewing Company had not issued a public statement at the time of publication.