Image Credit: Jorge Cortez / X. Car meets are usually one of the few places where politics gets left in the parking lot along with everyone's daily drivers. Everybody's there for the same reason: to look at cool metal, swap stories, and maybe argue about carburetors versus fuel injection. So when a video started making the rounds showing a car owner getting asked to leave a California car meet, it caught a lot of attention fast. The man, who goes by Jorge Cortez on X, brought his 1969 Chevy Nova SS 396 to a car meet hosted at M Special Brewing Company in Goleta, California, an event organized by R&R Motorworks. Along with his classic Nova, Cortez had an American flag and a "Trump: I Will Never Surrender" flag displayed. According to his posts, an event coordinator asked him to take the flags down, and when he declined, the brewery's manager got involved. Eventually, sheriff's deputies were called out. In the videos, deputies can be heard telling Cortez that the event was meant to be apolitical and that flying the flag went against that policy. Cortez pushed back, arguing he wasn't being political, just patriotic, and the deputies noted that since it was private property, they couldn't force the issue either way, it was up to the organizers. Cortez says he left to avoid a potential trespassing citation, though he noted the deputies themselves were professional throughout the interaction. Advertisement Advertisement The clips have since sparked a lot of back-and-forth online. Some commenters felt Cortez was singled out unfairly for showing patriotism rather than being "political," while others pointed out that flying a flag tied to a political figure is going to read as political no matter the intent behind it, especially at an event with a stated no-politics policy. A few viewers who watched the footage also disagreed with organizers calling him "argumentative," saying he came across as calm while explaining his position. What Happened, According to the Videos I was kicked out of a car meet and threatened with trespassing (sheriffs were called) at a California brewery parking lot for flying an American flag and a Trump "I Will Never Surrender" flag on my classic car — because it was "political." This is California. TDS is real. For… pic.twitter.com/ZIrdTpZQ6D — Jorge Cortez 🐆 (@realJorgeCortez) July 27, 2026 Across the three clips Cortez posted, the sequence is pretty clear: a request to remove the flags, a conversation with the event coordinator that got tense, and then a calmer, more procedural conversation with sheriff's deputies who ultimately confirmed it came down to the property owner's rules, not the law. This one boils down to a reality a lot of car folks don't love thinking about: even at a laid-back Saturday car show, if it's happening on private property, the business hosting it gets to set the rules, flags included. Whether those rules feel consistent or fair is a separate conversation from whether they're enforceable. Community Reaction Has Been Split Part 2. The Trump flag is political to her. Fair enough, it's private property, and I ended up leaving. They just make up rules and policies because they are so triggered by @POTUS that he is our president, and they can't tolerate their supporters. pic.twitter.com/6LbYqy68lj — Jorge Cortez 🐆 (@realJorgeCortez) July 27, 2026 Reactions in the comments were mixed. Several people sided with Cortez, arguing the American flag alone shouldn't have been a problem. Advertisement Advertisement Others felt the Trump flag specifically was the sticking point, and that any political flag, regardless of which side, would've drawn the same response at an event billed as neutral ground. Said one passionate reply: "I disagree with them, but if it's their property, they can do whatever they want. If they don't want a Republican patriot on their land, that's their prerogative. You're doing a good job by showing they're left-wing lunatics and everyone should know that before buying their products." Added another: "I will leave free speech, but I also believe in private property rights. Shine a light on their business practices and let consumers decide whether they want to spend their dollars at this establishment. Keep up the great work!" Part 3. Here is the video of the initial meeting with the Sherrifs. I agree, that's why I left once it was all cleared up by the sheriffs, who were very cool, polite, and respectful. They knew it was BS, but it is private property, and I left shortly after. Funny thing is, I met… pic.twitter.com/DMgy4e38Ra — Jorge Cortez 🐆 (@realJorgeCortez) July 27, 2026 Our Take Car meets work best when they stay focused on the cars, that's the whole appeal. Organizers are well within their rights to set a no-politics policy for their event, and attendees are free to disagree with how that policy gets applied. Advertisement Advertisement Where this one gets messy is the inconsistency question a lot of commenters raised: if a venue displays its own symbolism elsewhere, it's fair for people to ask what "no politics" actually means in practice. Either way, we'd rather see disagreements like this get worked out with a calm conversation, like the one Cortez had with the deputies, than escalate further. At the end of the day, a numbers-matching '69 Nova SS 396 deserves to be talked about for its 396 big block, not a flagpole. 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Liked by Ella Walker, Ethan Brown
Liked by Ella Walker, Ethan Brown
Liked by Ella Walker, Ethan Brown
