It’s not often that a social media post can land a business owner in court, but one restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska, is facing that reality this week.
John Horavatinovich, the owner of Salt 88 in Omaha, is being charged with obstructing a government operation after he posted photos online back in August of two 17-year-olds whom his staff turned away after they tried to buy Bud Light. The problem? Those teenagers were working with police in a compliance check to make sure local restaurants didn’t serve alcohol to minors, something Horavatinovich said he didn’t know until 12 days later.
“We were presented with two minors trying to buy alcohol at our restaurant,” Horavatinovich said. “Had I known they were minors working with authorities in a compliance check, I would have deleted it immediately.”
Nebraska State Patrol Sergeant Robert Elliot, who ran the operation and also recently retired from the force, testified that he had to cancel the operation because he feared for the safety of the two kids. He said publicizing that they were working with police could not only put them in danger but would also ruin the investigation by warning other targets in advance.
The defense, however, doesn’t think it’s fair to charge Horavatinovich when he didn’t know about the investigation. Their argument is that it is impossible to interfere with a police compliance check if you don’t know that’s what it was.
The trial is expected to go before a jury on Tuesday, with a verdict most likely coming before the week ends. If found guilty, he could be fined.
