Erie Orchards & Cider Mill owner criticized after video shows him making racist remarks

ERIE − Erie Orchards & Cider Mill is facing a storm of public criticism after a recent video has gone viral showing owner Steve Elzinga making a series of disparaging and racist remarks toward Muslims.

The man who recorded the video, Joe Mahmoud, shared his story and a series of videos featuring Elzinga on Facebook.

Follow-up: Erie Orchards owner responds to racism allegations after video goes viral

Mahmoud said he visited the orchard with his wife and three daughters Sunday and purchased nearly $70 worth of goods before looking to head out onto the property to experience the orchards. He said the staff told him that they were out of U-pick peaches, but if they found anything, they could keep it at no charge.

When Mahmoud tried to leave with a bag of peaches and apples that he said were "mostly rotted," he was stopped by Elzinga who confronted him at his car in the parking lot.

"He opened my vehicle door, began to rifle through our bags on the floor, and without any provocation, he stated, 'You people are always stealing,'" Mahmoud said in his Facebook post. "Shocked and willing to rectify any misunderstanding, I explained the information his staff had given us and that we were more than willing to pay for anything necessary."

Mahmoud said that Elzinga then started making racist comments against Muslims.

"Every Muslim that comes in here steals from me," Elzinga can be heard saying on one of the videos. "And that's why you're gonna pay."

Mahmoud can be heard responding, "That's racist. You're a racist."

"Oh, of course I am," Elzinga says.

As of Tuesday night, the video had nearly 65,000 views, over 2,000 shares, and many hundreds of comments.

Channel 7 WXYZ Detroit interviewed Elzinga at Erie Orchards earlier Tuesday to ask for his side of the story. Elzinga said that the company has dealt with theft on a nearly daily or weekly basis.

"I'll tell you what happened," Elzinga told Channel 7 Action News. "I've had several problems with Muslims who have come in and picked and don't pay. Oh, they thought it was free. He was the third one on Sunday that came, had $57 worth of apples, and said no, I'm not paying."

He later added: "Every time a Muslim would drive in, my staff would call me and say, 'We have Muslims out there. We got to be extremely careful.'"

Elzinga started the interview with Channel 7 Action News reporter Faraz Javed by asking, "Are you, his brother?"

Toward the end of the interview, Elzinga said he doesn't feel that way about all Muslims and that they've "had a lot of Muslims who've come here and are good people — they pick, they pay."

The Monroe News is reaching out to Mahmoud and Erie Orchards for comment.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Erie Orchards owner criticized; video shows him making racist remarks