Southeast
Haitian couple alleges Virginia town targeted their food truck
A married couple who fled Haiti for Virginia achieved their American dream when they opened a variety market on the Eastern Shore, selling hard-to-find spices, sodas and rice to the region’s growing Haitian community.
When they added a Haitian food truck, people drove from an hour away for freshly cooked oxtail, fried plantains and marinated pork.
But Clemene Bastien and Theslet Benoir are now suing the town of Parksley, alleging that it forced their food truck to close. The couple also says a town councilman cut the mobile kitchen’s water line and screamed, “Go back to your own country!”
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“When we first opened, there were a lot of people” ordering food, Bastien said, speaking through an interpreter. “And the day after, there were a lot of people. And then … they started harassing us.”
A federal lawsuit claims the town passed a food truck ban that targeted the couple, then threatened them with fines and imprisonment when they raised concerns. They’re being represented by the Institute for Justice, a law firm that described a “string of abuses” in the historic railroad town of about 800 people.
“If Theslet and Clemene were not of Haitian descent, Parksley’s town government would not have engaged in this abusive conduct,” the lawsuit states.
Theslet Benoir and Clemene Bastien stand inside their Eben-Ezer Haitian food truck in Parksley, Virginia, on Jan. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Finley)
The town council is pushing back through a law firm it hired, Pender & Coward, which said its own investigation found many allegations “simply not true.”
The couple failed to apply for a conditional use permit and chose to sue instead, the law firm countered. It said the council member cut an illegal sewage pipe — not a water line — after the food truck dumped grease into Parksley’s sewage system, causing damage.
The councilman had authority to do so as a public works department representative, the law firm said.
“We expect to prevail once the evidence is presented,” attorneys Anne Lahren and Richard Matthews said.
Conflicts between local governments and food trucks have played out in the U.S. for decades, often pitting the aspirations of entrepreneurial immigrants against the concerns of local officials and restaurants. Tensions can spark debates about land use, food safety and food truck owners’ rights in underserved communities.
The Parksley dispute is unfolding on a narrow peninsula of farmland and coastline between the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean, where the population is majority white but growing increasingly diverse.
Black and Hispanic migrant workers from Florida, Haiti and Latin America began picking fruits and vegetables in the 1950s. Many people from Haiti and Latin America now work in the coops and slaughterhouses of the expanding poultry industry, which extends north into Maryland and Delaware.
Several community members said the lawsuit unfairly maligns a town that has integrated recent immigrants into its 0.625 square miles.
Parksley has two Caribbean markets, a Haitian church and a Latin American restaurant, all of which sit near the hardware store, flower shop and iconic five & dime.
Jeff Parks, who serves on the Accomack County Board of Supervisors, said the town “has welcomed any business which operates within the rules.”
Once a transportation hub for trains and trucks that hauled away grains and produce, Parksley has lost two grocery stores, a bank and a garment factory in recent decades. Some shops on the town square sit empty.
“It’s disheartening to see a town that is so open to everyone and welcoming new businesses into its storefronts to be mischaracterized,” Parks said. “We have multiple Haitian businesses, so it wouldn’t make sense that this one was being targeted.”
Bastien and Benoir said they were singled out.
“We did everything we’re supposed to do,” Bastien said.
The couple came to the U.S. in the 2000s and received asylum after fleeing this hemisphere’s poorest nation. Benoir is a U.S. citizen, while Bastien is a permanent resident.
They initially worked in a poultry processing plant. But in 2019, the couple opened the Eben-Ezer Variety Market in Parksley.
The food truck opened in June on the store’s property after the couple passed a state health inspection and obtained a $30 business license, their lawsuit stated. But Nicholson, the councilman, allegedly complained the food truck would hurt restaurants that buy equipment from his appliance store.
Nicholson cut the water line, causing $1,300 in spoiled food, the lawsuit said, and then tried to block a food shipment and screamed: “Go back to your own country!” when Bastien confronted him.
Nicholson declined to comment.
In October, Parksley’s council passed its ban on food trucks, except for special events. Mayor Frank Russell said it wouldn’t impact the food truck until its one-year business license expired.
But Parksley’s position changed after the Institute for Justice raised concerns, the lawsuit said. The town claimed food trucks were always illegal under zoning laws and threatened fines of $250 a day and 30 days in jail for each day the food truck remained open.
The couple quickly closed the town’s only permanent food truck, which now sits empty.
“We’re waiting to see what justice we’re going to get,” Bastien said. “And then we’ll see if we reopen.”
The couple’s lawsuit is seeking compensation for $1,300 in spoiled food, financial losses and attorneys’ fees. They also want $1 in nominal damages for violations of their constitutional rights.
Food truck disputes in America date back to the 1970s, said Ginette Wessel, an architecture professor at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island.
Restaurants often accuse food truck vendors of playing by their own rules, while immigrants can face perceptions they’re doing something unsanitary or illegal.
Wessel said lawsuits often end in compromise: “The (food trucks) do get restrictions, but they don’t get elimination. Or the city backs down and says, ‘OK, we can negotiate.’”
Meanwhile, the region’s Haitian community keeps growing as more people work in the poultry industry, said Thurka Sangaramoorthy, an American University anthropology professor who studies the area’s immigrant populations.
U.S. Census numbers show that 600 people identify as Haitian in Accomack County, with several thousand more on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and in lower Delaware. Sangaramoorthy said the region’s Haitian population likely numbers in the tens of thousands.
She said Parksley’s Haitian food truck provided something vital — familiar foods that remind people of their homeland — to people often working long hours.
“It’s a community that is triply marginalized for being foreign, Black and speaking Haitian Creole,” Sangaramoorthy said. “They feel like they need to keep to themselves, so it’s surprising that this couple was brave to even file a lawsuit.”
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President Biden sent a message to Americans before the Sugar Bowl between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish kicked off Thursday evening.
Biden’s message was broadcast on ESPN before the College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
He offered his prayers for the victims in the New Orleans terror attack that left several people dead and dozens more injured.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Dylan Devezin (25) warms up before the game at Caesars Superdome. (Amber Searls/Imagn Images)
“Today all of America stands with the people of New Orleans,” Biden said. “We pray for those killed and injured in yesterday’s attack, and we’re grateful to the brave first responders who raced to save lives.”
Biden said he was happy the game was back on after it was moved from Wednesday night to Thursday evening as officials swept the city for explosives after the attack.
“I’m glad the game is back on for today, but I’m not surprised because the spirit of New Orleans can never be kept down. That’s also true of the spirit of America. We just have to remember who we are. We’re the United States of America,” he said.
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart before a game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Caesars Superdome. (Amber Searls/Imagn Images)
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“There’s nothing beyond our capacity when we’re doing it together. God bless New Orleans, and God protect our troops.”
Fans flocked to the Superdome earlier in the day in preparation for the game. Authorities opened Bourbon Street hours before the game.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he was going to attend the game.
President Biden exits the stage after formally apologizing for abuses committed against native boarding school students over the past century during a visit to the Gila Crossing Community School Oct. 25, 2024, in Gila River Indian Community. (Imagn)
“Security is going to be tight,” he said in an appearance on “Fox & Friends.” “We have all confidence that we’re gonna put this game on. The Superdome is completely secure. Again, the FBI continues to pour resources into the state.”
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Al Qaeda first attacked the World Trade Center in 1993 with a car bomb in the underground garage. Americans heard about the attack on the evening news and then went out to McDonald’s for a burger and fries.
It was like the 911 operator called us and we put them on hold. Less than ten years later, the 9/11 attacks left 3,000 Americans dead.
We can’t make the same mistake. Even with the limited evidence we have so far, we know we have experienced a deadly, major synchronized Islamist terror attack on U.S. soil designed to send a message and inflict as many bloody casualties as possible. There is no reason why they can’t try that or worse again.
For a lot of reasons, there is cause to believe we have set ourselves up for the next Islamist campaign against America. Here are four.
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First, ISIS and others are back. Biden’s humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan reignited the hope that America really was the paper tiger that Usama Bin Laden claimed we were. He followed that with feckless policies in the Middle East and North Africa that gave both opportunities to rebuild and recruit and fed a global narrative that it was time to rise up and strike again.
Next, open borders are a death sentence. It doesn’t matter if the Vegas or New Orleans threats crossed over from Mexico or not. Biden has created an unprecedented vulnerability with porous borders and unlimited illegal migration that leaves us more vulnerable today than we were on 9/11. An unprecedented number of individuals on the terrorist watch list have entered the U.S. under the Biden presidency. This administration’s policies have handed the terrorists too many options.
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Third, we have demobilized our counterterrorism efforts. Pretty much every instrument we established since 9/11 has been diverted, distracted, disabled or dismissed under Biden. We all know Biden’s top priorities for intelligence and law enforcement. They include persecuting his political enemies; protecting his family; investigating misdemeanors committed on January 6; surveilling school board meetings; meeting diversity, equity and climate goals; suppressing free speech; and demonizing conservatives at every opportunity.
We didn’t just take our eyes off the ball. We walked off the court.
Finally, Russia, China, and Iran are not our friends. Every round of global terrorism has had some measure of state sponsorship or support. Today, we can expect no different.
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Beijing, Tehran, and Moscow know that Trump is going to take his heavy hand off the Bible in a few weeks and lay a meaty fist on them. They will be scrambling for underhanded ways to push back. Terrorism will be one of them. In fact, they are already doing this. Russia contracted for terrorist attacks in Germany. China dumped Israel on October 7. Iran has put out hit contracts on Americans.
We didn’t just take our eyes off the ball. We walked off the court.
Because of this administration’s weakness, today’s terrorists don’t try to think “outside the box.” They already have more deadly toys than could fit in Santa’s sleigh. The attack in New Orleans demonstrated the use of common and proven terrorist tactics that we have seen plenty of in recent years from Europe to the Middle East to North Africa. The handbook of terrorist tools is tried and proven. We can expect more of the same.
Today’s terrorists, however, can and are already starting to draw on proven modern battlefield tactics, often using dual-use technology with civilian and military applications that are being innovated in places like Ukraine, the Middle East and North Africa. We have already seen, for example, attempted attacks on energy infrastructure and the use of drones. Just like the way car bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) made their way from combat situations to terror attacks, other means to create murder and mayhem could soon be coming to a community near you.
How do we stop them? By using our counterterrorism capabilities the way they were intended—not the knee-jerk response of the Bush years or the measured indifference under Obama, but the sensible, practical, and responsible actions taken during Trump’s first term that took us from lights blinking red to giving ISIS lights out.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM JAMES CARAFANO
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HOUSTON — New photos taken by Fox News Digital provide a look inside Bourbon Street killer Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home in Houston.
Photos of the inside of Jabbar’s mobile home in a majority-Muslim neighborhood in north Houston revealed multiple copies of the Quran, a book on Christianity and a book about teaching children about Islam.
Jabbar, 42, rammed a white truck into a crowd full of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans on Wednesday around 3:15 a.m. He then began shooting at law enforcement officers, who returned fire, killing Jabbar on the scene. The rampage, which is being investigated as a terrorist attack, left 15 dead, including Jabbar, and more than 30 people injured.
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An interior view of Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home in Houston on Thursday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Jabbar, who served in the U.S. Army for 13 years, including one tour in Afghanistan, was flying an ISIS flag on his truck during the attack and was inspired by the Islamic state.
The FBI and a Houston SWAT team raided Jabbar’s home early Thursday morning. The team left the front door off its hinges and cracked open, revealing much of the house’s living room, kitchen and a glimpse of a bedroom.
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An interior view of Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home in Houston on Thursday. (Peter Pinedo/Fox News Digital)
From outside the front porch, Jabbar’s living room could be seen left in a state of disarray by law enforcement officers who searched the home. A black suitcase lay strewn on the floor and a dart board and fake fireplace could be seen on the far side of the wall.
An interior view of Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home in Houston on Thursday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
An interior view of Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home in Houston on Thursday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Next-door neighbors described Jabbar to Fox News Digital as a quiet, respectful neighbor who was devoted to his Islamic religion. A bookshelf sitting near the front door seems to back his religious devotion, containing several copies of the Quran and books about Islam as well as one about Christianity.
On the opposite side of the house, Jabbar had an elevated desk with a computer set up and a can of pepper spray, as well as several other items. A green, military-style backpack also lay near the kitchen.
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An interior view of Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home in Houston on Thursday. (Peter Pinedo/Fox News Digital)
Jabbar was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, and was living in a rented mobile home in Houston. The house is in a neighborhood among several other mobile homes and RVs, just about a seven-minute walk from the Masjid Bilal Mosque and Darul Arqam Islamic school.
Masjid Bilal Mosque and Darul Arqam Islamic school in north Houston. (Peter Pinedo/Fox News Digital)
Much of the neighborhood is in an extreme state of disrepair with dilapidated houses, parts of the road ripped up and trash and stray animals present throughout the street. Jabbar’s yard had several ducks and chickens wandering about and several goats were in another yard nearby.
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Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home is seen in Houston after law enforcement searched the property. (Peter Pinedo/Fox News Digital)
An interior view of Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home in Houston on Thursday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
A next-door neighbor, who asked not to be identified, told Fox News Digital he had seen Jabbar loading up a white pickup truck on Tuesday outside his Houston home, the morning before the attack in New Orleans, where he rammed the truck into New Year’s revelers. The neighbor said he spoke with Jabbar, who told him he had gotten a job and was moving to Louisiana. The neighbor said he was under the impression Jabbar had gotten another job in information technology.
An exterior view of Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home in Houston on Thursday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
An exterior view of Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home in Houston on Thursday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“He said he got the job that day in Louisiana,” the neighbor said, describing how Jabbar was loading “very light stuff, handheld stuff, not heavy stuff” into the truck.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar lived in this Houston home before carrying out a New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans. (Peter Pinedo/Fox News Digital)
“The morning he was moving, I asked him if he needed help moving out, as a neighbor, ‘Do you need any help for moving?’ He said, ‘I’m OK,’” the neighbor told Fox News Digital.
An exterior view of Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home in Houston on Thursday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
The neighbor expressed disbelief upon learning Jabbar was accused of the Bourbon Street bloodshed.
An exterior view of Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home in Houston on Thursday. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“Blow my mind, I was shocked, somebody seized the carpet under my feet, I was just like too shocked, unbelievable. ‘This really happened?’” the neighbor said. “Like I said, we still don’t believe, we still don’t believe that that’s the person, just there’s no way, it can’t be like that.”
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