A bookstore owner called the cops on a woman who confronted Steve Bannon and called him a 'piece of trash'
- A woman called Steve Bannon a "piece of trash" in a Virginia bookstore.
- The owner of the store called the cops, but the woman left before police arrived.
- The incident is part of a larger movement of civilians confronting members of President Donald Trump's administration.
A woman confronted former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon in a bookstore in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday, causing the owner to call the cops, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
The unnamed woman reportedly called Bannon a "piece of trash" in Black Swan Books, according to The Hill.
Nick Cooke, the owner of the independent book store, called 911 but the woman left the store before cops could arrive. The Richmond police department told the Times-Dispatch that they received a call around 3:15 p.m. on Saturday.
"Bannon was simply standing, looking at books, minding his own business," Cooke told the paper. I asked her to leave, and she wouldn't. And I said, 'I'm going to call the police if you don't,' and I went to call the police, and she left."
Bannon, who founded the right-wing website Breitbart, left President Donald Trump's administration in August 2017. He was viewed as an integral member of Trump's campaign to get elected, and served as Trump's chief strategist during his first year in office. The Times-Dispatch noted that Bannon grew up in Richmond.
The incident comes on the heels of other cases of civilians confronting Trump appointees.
Amid the administration's controversial "zero tolerance" immigration policy, protesters heckled Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen as she ate at a Mexican restaurant.
Stephen Miller, the senior White House adviser known to advocate President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies, was called a fascist to his face at another restaurant in Washington.
The White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said she was asked to leave a restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, because she works for Trump.
Fanning the flames, Rep. Maxine Waters caused more controversy when she said encouraged people to confront Trump staffers.
"If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere," the California Democrat said.
Cooke told the Times-Dispatch why he asked the woman to leave. "Bookshops are all about ideas and tolerating different opinions and not about verbally assaulting somebody," he said.
Black Swan Books did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request to comment.