A former U.S. Navy SEAL who says he shot Osama bin Laden is on the middle of a a lot totally different battle in Virginia, the place plans for a military-themed brewery are drawing opposition over his alleged racist and homophobic remarks.
Robert J. O’Neill has a small possession stake in Armed Forces Brewing Firm and has served as its model ambassador. His latest social media grievance a couple of Navy sailor who performs as a drag queen and a police report alleging he used a racial slur are fueling efforts to cease the brewery from opening in military-friendly Norfolk.
The corporate, which markets itself with politically conservative advertisements, has dismissed claims of bigotry and toned down O’Neill’s public-facing position. However final month, Norfolk’s planning fee really useful the Metropolis Council deny permits for the deliberate taproom and distribution middle, which might be only some miles (kilometers) from the nation’s largest Navy base.
The nonbinding 4-to-2 vote got here after almost 800 public feedback had been filed, lots of which opposed the enterprise. The brewery additionally did not get the assist of the native neighborhood affiliation, which serves the largely Black neighborhood of Park Place.
The Metropolis Council might vote as quickly as Tuesday on the brewery’s conditional use permits. The corporate has warned it is going to sue if the applying is rejected.
In a letter to Norfolk’s lawyer, brewery lawyer Tim Anderson stated the planning fee’s vote was primarily based on the homeowners’ political opinions.
“What’s 100% clear to me is that if my shopper was an activist brewery positively engaged in selling LGBTQ concepts — the applying would have sailed by means of planning,” Anderson stated.
In some methods, the matter resembles an inverse, if miniature, model of the uproar over Bud Gentle sending a commemorative can to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Gross sales of the model plunged amid a conservative backlash, though Bud Gentle’s mother or father Anheuser-Busch additionally angered supporters of transgender rights who believed the corporate later deserted Mulvaney.
Opponents say Armed Forces Brewing can be a obviously unhealthy match for town of about 230,000 individuals on the Chesapeake Bay. They argue its possession doesn’t replicate the variety of the U.S. army, veterans or liberal-leaning Norfolk.
Robert Bracknell, an lawyer and former Marine, stated the corporate made no effort to win over surrounding neighborhoods whereas counting on conservative identification politics for its branding. Neighborhood opposition isn’t anti-military however “anti-intolerance and anti-hate,” he stated.
“These guys should not the Navy,” stated Bracknell, who lives lower than 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the proposed taproom. “They’re a extremely small sliver of a veteran neighborhood that doesn’t characterize the remainder of us.”
Opponents cited O’Neill’s August arrest in Frisco, Texas, during which police stated he assaulted a resort safety officer whereas intoxicated and used a racial slur. O’Neill, who faces misdemeanor assault and public intoxication costs, later posted on the social media platform X, previously Twitter: “I categorically deny ever utilizing this horrible language not too long ago reported.”
In response to information that an active-duty sailor who moonlights as a drag queen was serving to Navy recruitment efforts, O’Neill posted on X in Might: “Alright. The U.S. Navy is now utilizing an enlisted sailor Drag Queen as a recruiter. I’m accomplished. China goes to destroy us. YOU GOT THIS NAVY. I can’t consider I fought for this bull.”
O’Neill, who’s now a public speaker and podcaster, didn’t reply to a request for remark despatched by means of his web site, LinkedIn profile or Fb web page.
Brewery opponents additionally centered on shareholder and advisor Gretchen Smith. The Air Drive veteran posted on X that Derek Chauvin, the previous Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing George Floyd, was harmless.
One other Smith publish cited the “Nice Reset,” a conspiracy concept that the Anti-Defamation League stated can have antisemitic overtones, though she voiced assist for Israel in different posts.
The corporate’s promotional movies additionally drew criticism. Some contain the firing of numerous weapons. And a tongue-in-cheek advert for traders warned off anybody who has ever watched “The View” tv present or loves “taking your 5-year-old baby to pull reveals.”
In response to efforts to get remark from Smith, Armed Forces Brewing stated she was overseas. However the firm stated in an electronic mail: “Gretchen is disliked by the vocal minority as a result of she holds political opinions that tens of hundreds of thousands of conservative People maintain — and which she has the First Modification proper to precise on her private social media.”
Planning commissioner Kim Sudderth voted towards the brewery, citing reservations about antisemitism and violent hate speech.
“I’m genuinely involved that you could be not adjust to metropolis situations and accomplice efficiently with the neighborhood,” Sudderth stated at a gathering final month.
Alan Beal, Armed Forces Brewing’s CEO, informed the fee that O’Neill and Smith aren’t a part of every day operations. Though O’Neill nonetheless sits on its board, he’s not the brewery’s director of army providers, Beal stated, noting that O’Neill not too long ago sought remedy in Mexico for post-traumatic stress.
“Regardless of the rumors that the opposition is spreading round city, nobody is operating across the brewing facility with AR-15s or weapons and there’s no barbed wire up on the fence,” Beal informed the fee final month. “The army is numerous. And sure, everyone seems to be welcome at Armed Forces Brewing Firm.”
In a promotional video, Beal stated the objective is to brew beer for the army neighborhood whereas using veterans and supporting their causes.
Anderson, the brewery’s lawyer, informed the planning fee that the enterprise must open for individuals to understand it’s not the “boogeyman.”
“This isn’t going to be some place that’s going to carry rallies towards the LGBTQ neighborhood or something distasteful,” Anderson stated. “Every little thing’s going to settle down.”
Jeff Ryder, president of Hampton Roads Pleasure, is skeptical. He stated the neighborhood will proceed elevating issues whereas attempting to ascertain a relationship with the brewery.
“However they haven’t actually given me any indication they need that,” Ryder stated.
