Bakery owner addresses encounter with Bovino

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Manolo Bentancur is talking about the conversation he had with the former commander of U.S. Border Patrol, Greg Bovino , when Bentancur saw Bovino at his popular east Charlotte bakery Sunday afternoon.

“He said, ‘Well, I can be wherever I want; it’s free,” said Bentancur. “I said, ‘This is private property; you are not allowed on this property. There’s a lot of fear of you, a lot of fear of ICE, and a lot of fear over what is going on in our nation.'”

Bovino and a cameraman were spotted in the parking lot of the bakery when Bentancur arrived to pick up his wife from work.

Last November, Bovino led Operation Charlotte’s Web , a federal immigration enforcement sweep that resulted in over 1,300 arrests, with much of the activity starting in the parking lot of Manolo’s bakery.

“‘Ah, you’re Manolo, you are the owner,'” Bentancur says Bovino told him. “‘You are the one who shut the business down in November so you can protect all the illegals that are here.'”

Queen City News reached out to Gregory Bovino, and he tells us that’s not what happened in the parking lot. In a written statement, Bovino says he never tried to enter the bakery. Bovino went on to say he was recording video of businesses from Operation Charlotte’s Web when his videographer asked to buy something in the bakery, and Bentancur declined.

“It’s not like he came to walk inside the bakery; ‘No,’ I told him if you are thinking about going inside the bakery, you are not going to go inside,” added Bentancur.

Bovino says he asked Bentancur, “Why he would choose an illegal alien over an American citizen and he was unable to answer.”

Bentancur says this interaction shows how his community and businesses in east Charlotte remain under attack. From bad reviews of his bakery to someone recently throwing eggs at the business, the hate speech keeps increasing.

“I have been prepared since November about what I am going to be reacting, what I am going to be saying the day I had to face these people, but I never thought it would be Bovino man,” said Bentancur.

Gregory Bovino says he plans to post the entire video of the interaction online later this week.

Action NC, a non-profit advocacy group, shared a statement following Bovino’s visit calling his actions “reprehensible” and an “attempt at intimidation tactics.”

“ They can only be described as an attempt by a man who perceives himself to be strong attempting to intimidate a business in a community that he perceives to be weaker. What he encountered showed the opposite. He was immediately told he was not welcome and made to leave ,” the group said.

Action NC Immigrant Justice Director, Héctor Vaca, added, “ We applaud Manolo and support his business. He is the type of leader that our community needs more of. He not only talks the talk, he walks it and strongly defends those that feel disempowered in the current climate created by people like Bovino. We call on all of Charlotte to show its love and support a business that supports its community. ”

The group praises Bentancur, who is an Action NC member, calling him “a community leader that builds and supports his community” and “a model of what a good leader should be–kind, generous, empowering others, advocate, hardworking.”