Jones, the pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, and President of political group Stand Up America Now, gained international attention in 2010 when he planned a burning of the Koran, the Islamic holy book, on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Jones and supporters held a mock trial of the Koran and set copies on fire as a "punishment" for “crimes against humanity” several times within the past few years. He has received hundreds of death threats, and has a $2.2 million bounty on his head from al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist groups.
Fry Guys Gourmet Fries’ motto “We take fries seriously” and an image of Jones and his two partners are emblazoned on a large banner that hangs in the restaurant inside the Bradenton mall.
“At first I thought the pictures would not be so recognizable,” Jones said. “They were supposed to be more of a cartoon type of thing.”
— Marc R. Masferrer (@marcmasferrer) January 9, 2015
But his image was removed after the mall’s manager Robert Tackett, who claims to have had no idea about Jones’ past controversies, was made aware of the pastor’s reputation.
Tackett said the Jones family appeared to be “very nice people” when they signed the lease.
“People have an opportunity to do business in America because we are a free country,” Tackett said. “He has not caused any problems or concerns. In fact, this is the first time I’ve heard any of this.”
Jones affirmed that he’s not worried, despite being on al-Qaeda’s most wanted hit list.
“We’re not fearful, and we’re not going to run and hide,” Jones said. “If they (terrorists) come, we’re going to try to get them before they get us.”
“I will continue to speak out against Islam or even if you want to define it as radical Islam,” Jones said. “I’m not putting everyone in the same box, but Islam itself is a very oppressive religion.”
Local intelligence officials assured Tackett that there are no security concerns about his restaurant for now.
Jones announced that he and his partners have big plans to turn the fry stand into a chain.
Both Jones and Tackett said that the fry chain has only had positive reviews thus far from customers.
