Tyson’s Tacos Owner Under Fire For Alleged Controversial Political Tweets

Tyson’s Tacos’ chef and owner Tyson Blankemeyer is facing the internet’s wrath due to some of his alleged tweets.

The impetus for most of the outrage seems to be a public Facebook post from Kathryn Gonzales that contains six screenshots that appear to be from Blankemeyer’s account, some of which encapsulate tweets that date back to April. The tweets, however, do not currently appear on Blankemeyer’s Twitter page.

Here’s the post from Gonzales:

Gonzales told Eater she initially looked into Blankemeyer’s Twitter after overhearing a conversation that he may have some views insensitive to her community. Because she loves the tacos and “adores” the staff, she said, “I didn’t want to have to not eat there again.” She did her own research and found the tweets. Gonzales says she posted screenshots of the tweets so that others can “be aware and make their own decisions.”

Blankemeyer regularly tweets about politics. See this one to Senator and presidential candidate Kamala Harris and several tweets to Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

The tweet that is drawing most ire is from April 19, according the screenshot. Representative Ilhan Omar tweeted that “Trump and his administration have infected the White House with a culture of dishonesty and corruption,” linking to a New York Times article. Blankemeyer allegedly responded, “You are the virus Trump is the cure.”

Today, Blankemeyer tweeted “that tweet never existed. It’s photoshop. I never even followed Ilhan [...] It’s lawsuit time.” Gonzales has not yet heard from Blankemeyer. As noted by other users embedded below, many believe he simply deleted the tweet.

Other tweets included in Gonzales’s Facebook post included Blankemeyer saying “I hate those people” in response to a Bernie Sanders tweet about millennials and responding to a tweet about children dying from school shootings with “If we abort them all, that would solve your problem.”

While Blankemeyer denies sending the tweet about Trump to Ilhan Omar, Gonzales provided Eater with a downloaded archive of Blankemeyer’s account from 6:38 p.m. on May 20, which includes this and all of the tweets in her Facebook post. The tweet to Representative Omar seems to exist in a Google search, but does not appear directly in Tweet Tunnel, where deleted tweets sometimes show up. While Blankemeyer has not explicitly denied the other tweets contained in Gonzales’s post, they are not on his Twitter timeline or in Tweet Tunnel.

Blankemeyer also retweeted himself from April 19 disparaging Trump (possibly to counteract online ire), and has posted other tweets defending himself, though his account has been silent today.

Meanwhile, many Facebook and Twitter users are spreading the word about Blankemeyer’s alleged tweets and calling for a boycott of Tyson’s Tacos. Its Yelp page is currently in active cleanup mode, indicating that there’s a barrage of commentary on Yelp that could affect Tyson’s business.

Others have defended Blankemeyer, saying he has the right to express political opinions.

Eater reached out to Blankemeyer and Tyson’s Tacos for comment. Watch this space for updates.