Small-Town Food Truck Owners Suffer Big-Time Constitutional Violations

Like many immigrants, Theslet Benoir and his wife, Clemene Bastien, came to the United States to escape violence and oppression—and to control their own destiny. But unfortunately, as has happened to many IJ clients, their American Dream was cut short by petty bureaucrats who undermine the very laws they’re elected to uphold. Now, with IJ’s help, Theslet and Clemene are fighting back.

The couple immigrated to America from Haiti with nothing. While working at a poultry processing plant on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, the couple aspired to start their own business. After years of hard work, they eventually opened a small store that caters to the needs of other Haitian immigrants in the nearby town of Parksley. Hoping to expand their operation in May 2023, they received a one-year business license to open a food truck on the same lot as their brick-and-mortar store. 

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That’s when their troubles began. Just days after Theslet and Clemene opened the food truck, town councilmember Henry Nicholson showed up irate. He launched into a tirade about how competition from the food truck would harm local restaurants and falsely accused the couple of illegally dumping grease. Then Nicholson went a step further—he physically cut one of the food truck’s pipes, severing its connection to Parksley’s sewer system. He later claimed that his position as a councilmember gave him the authority to do so.

Without access to this necessary utility, Theslet and Clemene couldn’t operate their food truck until they could hire someone to repair the damage Nicholson caused. 

But Nicholson was not through. The very next day, he returned to the food truck to prevent it from receiving a grocery delivery. When Clemene confronted him, he screamed: “Go back to your own country!”

After Nicholson’s individual efforts to shut down the couple’s food truck failed, Parksley stepped in to pick up where its councilmember had left off. The Town Council passed a sweeping ban that made Theslet and Clemene’s new business—the only food truck in town—illegal. 

IJ sent a letter urging Parksley to repeal the ban. Instead, the town immediately threatened Theslet and Clemene with years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines. Why? According to the town’s new position, food trucks have always been illegal under Parksley’s zoning code, and the couple had committed criminal misdemeanors each day their food truck was open—never mind that the town gave them permission to operate in the first place. 

None of this makes sense. So when Parksley doubled down, IJ did, too. We filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Theslet and Clemene to reopen their business and hold the town and Nicholson accountable for unconstitutionally retaliating against the entrepreneurs. Victory in Parksley will mean victory for Americans everywhere who face arbitrary and vindictive punishment simply for exercising their right to earn a living and their right to question the government.

Dylan Moore is an IJ attorney.