Bobby LaPin’s week began with a phone call to his insurance company. The owner of Boat Baltimore, a private sailing charter, asked if his boat would be covered should someone set it on fire.

LaPin, known as Capt. Bobby to customers, spent the rest of the morning reporting baseless negative reviews for his company on Google and scrolling through a slew of hateful messages he received — all because of a political social media post he made Saturday.

“I was having my morning coffee and I’m just so upset because we’re like, what’s this going to do to our business?” he said. “It’s not the way you should start a Monday in the United States of America.”

The controversial post, which garnered over 2,100 comments and 19,000 likes across social media, critiqued the $45 million spent on the military parade in D.C. last weekend. In the caption, LaPin offered 25 alternative uses for the money, including school lunches for 180,000 children or elder care services for 10,000 veterans.

Amid the flurry of varying opinions, LaPin received threats both to himself and his boat. One message threatened to burn his boat to the ground, while others read “Watch your back” or “I’m gonna see you soon” with a skull emoji. LaPin also noted his account lost over 1,000 followers.

On Sunday evening, two one-star reviews were left on Google, tarnishing an otherwise perfect rating. The first accused LaPin of human trafficking illegal immigrants, while the second accused him of inappropriate relationships with minors.

The baseless claims were made by accounts with no history as customers, LaPin said. Google removed the reviews after they were reported.

Ana, who didn’t want her last name used for safety concerns, became a customer of Boat Baltimore after discovering LaPin’s Instagram. She said it was “very sad” to see the comments vandalized.

“What Bobby and (his wife) Alicia are doing is really positive, and the business is really positive, the experience that they offer is very positive,” Ana said.

When news got out about the backlash, supporters of the business flooded the reviews with five-star ratings, both authentic and fake. LaPin asked people to refrain from fake five-star reviews and is working with Google to take them down.

When LaPin began Boat Baltimore with his wife Alicia in 2022, their social media account promoted the business, but eventually it became a page “defending Baltimore.”

LaPin, a disabled Army veteran, said he never makes political posts. However, he said he grew frustrated with the direction of the country with parade costs and his neighbors being “terrorized” by ICE in recent weeks.

John Maroon, president of Columbia-based Maroon PR, said the country’s polarization means your political views now define you.

“The other side now makes you not just wrong on your post, but a bad human being, an evil person, someone that needs to be shut down,” Maroon said. “It’s incredibly disturbing.”

Dr. Christina Black, assistant professor of practice at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, said more businesses are entering the political sphere, following in the footsteps of companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Target and Home Depot.

“The urge must be even stronger for small business owners, whose identities are wrapped up more closely with their businesses,” Black said. She added there is “huge risk” involved.

Maroon advises his clients to weigh the risks before political posting, but he said it’s ultimately the owner’s prerogative.

“You can make a strategic decision, ‘I’m a more liberal-leaning or left-leaning business, and that’s who my customers are, that’s who I want,’” Maroon said. “The point is always think it through, because there is a level of ramification.”

While LaPin said he’s afraid of losing business, he’s undeterred in posting his opinion on social media. He said, “I would rather have a business that fails because I try to do the right thing than have a business that prospers by not taking a stand at all.”

LaPin said the backlash has died down now and is “just another wake behind our boat now.”

“The haters had their moment, very briefly,” LaPin said. “But we just kept sailing on with the support of so many of our friends and crew in Baltimore.”

Have a news tip? Contact Brendan Nordstrom at bnordstrom@baltsun.com or on X at @bnords03.