Where’s The Lie?: Bookstore Owner Calls Police On Woman Who Verbally Attacked Steve Bannon, Claims She Called Him A “Piece Of Trash”

Over the weekend, former White House strategist #SteveBannon became the latest of the extended list of Trump associates, or staffers, who’ve been approached in public for their involvement in the controversial Trump Era.

On Saturday afternoon, a woman confronted Bannon inside independent bookstore, Black Swan Books, in Virginia to condemn him for his work with the Celebrity-in-Chief. 

According to the store’s owner, Nick Cooke, the woman spotted Bannon browsing in the bookstore, approached him, and began shouting, calling him a “piece of trash,” prompting Cooke to contact officials. 

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“Steve Bannon was simply standing, looking at books, minding his own business,” Cooke told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “I asked [the woman] 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. And that’s the end of the story.” 

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As it turns out, that, in fact, was the end of the story. According to The Washington Post, the Richmond Police Department confirmed that the call to 911 was made at the time of the incident, but it was cancelled before officials responded. 

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Although Cooke refused to detail his relationship with Bannon, he did defend the controversial strategist’s right to browse a bookstore. 

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“We are a bookshop,” he said. “Bookshops are all about ideas and tolerating different opinions and not about verbally assaulting somebody, which is what was happening.”