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A man ordered to remove his ‘Jesus Saves’ T-shirt or leave a shopping mall said he would rather ‘go to jail or die’ than remove it.
During an hour-long video posted to YouTube on Monday, Paul Shoro was still wearing the same fluorescent shirt as a security guard at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota, told him to take off or leave the premises.
Shoro, a native of Ethiopia, defended his actions, explaining his presence in the United States as a request from God.
He claimed that he was at the mall to hand out gospel topics: sheets of paper on which parts of the Scriptures are written.
Shoro, who is originally from Ethiopia, defended his actions by explaining that his presence in the US was a request from God who “asked him to go to Minnesota.”
In the video, a security guard at the country’s largest mall can be heard telling the Shoro: “If you want to shop here, you have to take off that shirt.”
“When they asked me to take it off, I said I’d rather go to jail or die than take off my shirt,” Shoro said.
Another clip shows the same guard saying: ‘Jesus is associated with religion and is offending people. People have been offended.
During a YouTube interview since then, Shoro said, ‘He told me what to do. He goes out into the street and preaches the Gospel. I ordered t-shirts. All I got is Jesus, man. Hallelujah!
‘The Lord freed me from darkness. He anointed me and finally, when he was in Washington DC, he said to me, ‘Hey, son, I need you to go to Minnesota.’
“I started going to the Mall of America and met tens of thousands of people, but they stopped me from preaching the gospel.”
Shoro says that a security guard asked him to take off his shirt, but he refused.
“When they asked me to take it off, I said I’d rather go to jail or die than take off my shirt,” he said.
A viral video shows a man wearing a “Jesus Saves” T-shirt being ordered by security guards to remove his clothes or leave at the Mall of America on January 7.
‘Some people think we judge them but we don’t. We went out to preach and help these people. I was very nice to them. I know my purpose. I didn’t go there to fight.
Shoro said that other shoppers supported him and told the security guard that he had freedom of speech and could wear the shirt according to the law.
The video that was recorded on January 7 sparked outrage online with a group staging a protest at the mall where they intend to wear their own ‘Jesus Saves’ T-shirts.
A Mall of America spokesperson told DailyMail.com that Shoro was finally allowed to remain in the mall in his shirt after the incident.
In the original clip, the preacher can be seen in his bright yellow T-shirt branding the religious slogan.
The back of the shirt reads “Jesus is the only way”, while the popular symbol for “coexistence” that advocates that different religions live in peace is crossed out.
The videos have now been shared on TikTok and Twitter, while one went live to Facebook on January 7.
A week earlier, he had also been issued a 24 hour ticket for ‘soliciting guests’.
During the tense exchange, three security guards surround the man.
In a clip that has gone viral on social media, the man insists he was peacefully shopping in the shirt, but officers accused him of “religious solicitation.”
He can be heard saying: ‘However, I didn’t say anything. I didn’t speak. I didn’t say anything. I just went to Macy’s.
The guard responds: ‘Again, I give you a couple of options. You can take off your shirt and you can go to Macy’s and do your shopping.
‘Or you can leave the mall, okay? Those are your only options at this time.
The officer later claimed that he was engaging in “religious solicitations,” which the mall forbids.
Shoro kept insisting throughout the video that he wasn’t trying to preach but was simply wearing the shirt while shopping.
The mall’s policies prohibit “inappropriate dress,” including clothing that “contains profanity, obscene gestures, or racial/religious/ethnic slurs that may create a disturbance.”
The Mall also prohibits ‘picketing, demonstrations, solicitations, protests or petitions’.
Shoro had been asked to leave the mall another day because he was preaching. This time, however, he appears to have been walking through the mall.
Social media users reacted furiously to the video in which the guard is seen claiming that “Jesus is associated with religion and is offending people.”
A guard is heard saying, “Yeah, you’re walking around in that shirt in a solicitation fashion and we’ve had guests come up and say they’re offended by your shirt.”
The posts have drawn massive outrage online.
A Twitter user named John Mason captioned the video: “I automatically assumed this was abroad but it’s here in America.”
Another user, Wyatt Sullivan, responded: “If I ever go to the Mall of America again, I’ll wear the biggest Jesus t-shirt I can find.”
Meanwhile, Pastor Chase Thompson wrote: ‘I should sue them into oblivion.
The clip sparked a protest from a Facebook group who will wear ‘Jesus Saves’ t-shirts at the mall on Saturday, February 4.
The planned protest was shared on a Facebook group belonging to the Bloomington Patriots.
“This wouldn’t have happened anywhere in the US until very recently, and it certainly wouldn’t have happened if I had a pride jersey and even 50 people complained.”
A group called the Bloomington Patriots plans to hold a rally at the mall on February 4, asking attendees to wear ‘Jesus shirts.’
A mall spokesperson said: “The guest referenced in the video was approached by Mall of America security on January 7, 2023. A week earlier, he was issued a 24-hour trespass for request guests. After a brief interaction, the guest was not asked to change his shirt and was allowed to remain in the Mall.’