A former congressman mistakenly blamed Islam when he couldn't buy booze at Walmart
In a since-updated blog post on his site, the conservative firebrand suggested on Monday that he wasn't allow to purchase booze from the employee because the cashier was Muslim and the store had adopted "Sharia law." (The Islamic religion prohibits alcohol consumption.)
"There was a young man doing the checkout and another Walmart employee came over and put up a sign, 'No alcohol products in this lane' So being the inquisitive fella I am, I used my additional set of eyes - glasses - to see the young checkout man's name. Let me just say it was NOT 'Steve,'" West wrote.
He then used the incident to lament that Christians are being forced to violate their faith by serving same-sex weddings.
"Imagine that, this employee at Walmart refused to just scan a bottle or container of an alcoholic beverage - and that is acceptable," he continued. "A Christian business owner declines to participate or provide service to a specific event - a gay wedding - which contradicts their faith, and the State crushes them."
However, it turns out that the cashier was just too young to sell alcohol under store policy. West's post was subsequently updated with an "EDITOR's NOTE" to explain the snafu.
"We spoke to the Walmart store, and apparently employees under 21 years old are prohibited from selling cigarettes and alcohol," the story now reads. "However, that isn't to say Walmart isn't selectively caving to Muslim demands, such as this case regarding Halal meat in Ohio."
The left-leaning organization Media Matters first flagged West's mistake on Monday evening.