A heated confrontation between a South Florida Starbucks customer and several employees is drawing national attention – and showing the continuing tension across the country since the election of Donald Trump.
The viral video taken from the coffee shop across from the University of Miami campus on U.S. 1 in Coral Gables shows David Sanguesa arguing with a barista behind the counter, calling her "trash" and saying "Trump, Trump. You lost" while demanding his money back before again calling her "garbage" and "plain trash."
A different employee confronted Sanguesa, who claimed he was discriminated against because he is white and had a Trump sign on his car. The second employee repeatedly asked Sanguesa not to talk to her like that, after which the two exchanged more heated words and Sanguesa threatened to "punch out" the barista before walking out.
Sanguesa told NBC 6 that he became upset after he was refused service.
"They refused to serve me coffee and it was very upsetting, we waited and waited and waited and had to call the, look for the manager to help us, and the lady I was with saying this is racism, discrimination, it just got out of control, she just refused to serve us coffee," Sanguesa said. "It was very upsetting, and we didn't get our money back, it escalated, I got upset, shouldn't have got upset, I'm very sorry about that but that's it, just a ridiculous thing that happened at Starbucks."
NBC 6 reached out to Starbucks’ corporate offices for a comment. They sent back the following statement:
"Embracing diversity and treating each other with respect and dignity is core to Starbucks values and something our partners take great pride in showing. We are committed to providing an inclusive, supportive and safe work environment for everyone."
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Sanguesa has a history of run-ins with the law. He was arrested twice for DUI within a one week period in 2008, while later being charged with domestic violence in 2014. Those charges were later dropped.
The Miami Herald reported that Sanguesa has emailed them numerous times over the years, commenting against Cubans, women, immigrants, the gay and lesbian community as well as both President Obama and Hillary Clinton.
