A Port St. Lucie yoga studio has been overwhelmed with threats in a case of mistaken identity.
The owner of a yoga studio in Port Charlotte took to Facebook to praise the gunman in President Trump's assassination attempt, and now people across the country are attacking the wrong business.
The co-owners of Centered Wellness and Yoga in Port St. Lucie say they've gotten more than 100 threatening calls, on top of comments and reviews, all over a Facebook post. A post that they didn't even make.
"We've gotten some that are so specific, they said that I'd better watch my back," said Sarah DiMatteo, co-owner of Centered Wellness and Yoga in Port St. Lucie.
DiMatteo's business is under fire in what she and her co-owner are calling a case of mistaken identity. After the owner of Luna Sheen Yoga Studio in Port Charlotte made a Facebook post about the Trump assassination attempt.
"Basically celebrating the shooting of Donald Trump and the bystanders in his crowd at his rally," said DiMatteo. "When those remarks were associated with our studio and me, the internet went crazy."
But the big question here: How could someone mistake that connection? Two different businesses on opposite sides of the state, with two completely different names?
"They mistakenly found Nova Luna Yoga and Wellness in Port St. Lucie, Florida," said DiMatteo. "Which is the former name of this studio. This studio is now Centered Wellness and Yoga."
She says she's never even heard of the Luna Sheen Yoga Studio before all this happened, or its owner.
"She's not here, we don't know her, we have no affiliation with her," said DiMatteo. "I don't care what side of the political aisle you stand on, there is no way you can celebrate something like that if you're a decent human. And violence is the antithesis of what we stand for in yoga anyway."
DiMatteo says she's received threatening messages from across the country and some from a 561 area code.
She fears for her employees' safety in light of the threats. And after a call from a local number, she called police.
"We are looking into that, it's being documented and we're close patrolling that business," said Port St. Lucie Chief of Police Richard Del Toro. "This is unacceptable. Number one it was a mistaken identity, but even if it wasn't, it's unacceptable behavior in Port St. Lucie and we're not going to tolerate it."
The owners at Centered Wellness say they hope people use this as an opportunity to start fact-checking before they attempt to hurt a small business.
