CBP Seizes Shipment of T-Shirts Featuring Swarm of Bees Attacking a Cop

Customs and Border Protection seized a shipment of t-shirts from a streetwear brand that sells an “Eliminate ICE” t-shirt and multiple shirts critical of police and capitalism. Among the shirts seized was a design that features a swarm of bees attacking a police officer. Emails seen by 404 Media indicate that the shirts are going to be shipped back to China or will be “destroyed.”

Last we checked in with Cola Corporation, they were getting threatened with bogus copyright threats from the Los Angeles Police Department over their “FUCK THE LAPD” shirts. The Streisand Effect being what it is, the attention from that naturally led the store to sell out much of its stock. The cops, broadly speaking, appear to be messing with Cola again.

Last month, a shipment of three new shirt designs running through O’Hare Airport in Chicago was held up by Customs and Border Protection, Cola told 404 Media. The designs were the bees attacking a cop, as well as a shirt featuring Eve reaching for an apple that says "NO GODS NO MASTERS" and one of a pigeon shitting on the head of a Christopher Columbus statue.

Emails from the import courier seen by 404 Media show that CBP initially said the shipment was being held due to copyright and trademark concerns over the brand “Cola,” which is a trademark that Cola itself had been in the process of registering with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). When the Cola trademark was approved by the USPTO last week, he sent proof of that to CBP through his courier. CBP then told the courier that the shirts did not have a “country of origin” marking on them and said they would be returned to China or would be “destroyed under CBP supervision,” according to emails to the courier seen by 404 Media.

“At first I was like, ‘the art on the t-shirts is all mine, so what’s the problem?,’” Cola told 404 Media.

“I talked to my lawyer and showed him the artwork on the shirts and he said ‘Dude, they weren’t going to let this through in a million years, they were just looking for an excuse,’” he said. “It’s kind of like when a cop tells you that you have a broken tail light and takes out their baton and smashes it. Of course, I have no recourse.”

Another one of Cola's designs. Image: Cola

The Cola Corporation sells “art and apparel for people who are sick of this shit already.” Their previous designs include “FAILED STATE” t-shirts, a variety of guillotine hats, a “FREE LUIGI” shirt, an “ELIMINATE ICE” shirt, and the aforementioned “FUCK THE LAPD” hats.

“I cannot prove to you that CBP saw the officer being attacked by the swarm of bees and got their feelings hurt, but what I can tell you is that for a week all I heard was copyright, copyright, copyright, and the second I prove it’s my copyright, their story changes,” he added. “And now it’s ‘we’re destroying it.’”

All of this is happening in the context, of course, of tariffs that are all over the place, ICE picking up people for minor infractions or for pro Palestinian protests, and CBP detaining tourists, citizens, and Green Card holders for extra questioning.

Cola said that he is making more t-shirts with the same design and is now selling for preorder as “the confiscated collection.”

“The federal government's confiscation of the original shipment at O'Hare airport only delayed the inevitable,” the company’s website says now. “The people want Cola and the people are indomitable.”

Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request for comment.

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