'I kept looking at the guy and I said you're Borat': California gun shop owner reveals how he saw through Sasha Baron Cohen's disguise that conned top politicians like Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney
- Norris Sweidan said Cohen came to his store last year to film Showtime show
- Said Cohen claimed to be Hungarian immigrant who was filming a documentary
- Sweidan said he was immediately suspicious of the man's clothes and accent
- He believes Cohen wanted to feature him to make a 'mockery' of gun owners
- Cohen has managed to dupe a number of politicians and gun lobbyists on show
- Even convinced one activist into promoting 'Puppy Pistols' for three-year-olds
A California gun store owner said he is '100 percent sure' that Sacha Baron Cohen attempted to trick him into appearing on the actor's new Showtime show.
Norris Sweidan was working at Warrior One Guns & Ammo in Riverside when a man claiming to be a Hungarian immigrant came in and said he wanted to buy a gun.
The man said he was filming a documentary about buying a gun as an immigrant, and Sweidan immediately didn't believe his story.
'I just kept looking at the guy and I was like "You're Borat"', Sweidan recalled to Fox 11. 'As soon as I said that he did a B-turn right out the door.'
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Norris Sweidan claims he is '100 percent sure' that Sacha Baron Cohen attempted to trick him into appearing on the actor's new Showtime show and came into his gun store (pictured)
Sweidan (pictured) said the guy immediately walked away when he looked at him and said 'You're Borat'
Sweidan said he was immediately suspicious of the man because of his clothes and accent.
'This guy does not look like a Hungarian immigrant,' Sweidan recalled. 'Tight a** leather pants, a beard, it just didn't fit.'
'The moment his words came out of his mouth I was like, this guy is full of s**t.'
Sweidan said he kicked Cohen's crew out of the store after the actor left.
'We're talking to the people, they don't wanna give us an answer,' he said. 'We basically told them to get the f**k out, you guys are full of s**t.'
Sweidan believed Cohen wanted to feature him and his store on his new Showtime show 'Who Is America?' to make a 'mockery' of gun owners.
Sweidan said he was immediately suspicious of the man, who claimed to be a Hungarian immigrant filming a documentary, because of his clothes and accent
The man claimed he was filming a documentary about buying a gun as an immigrant, but Sweidan didn't believe his story
The mockumentary-style series features Cohen inhabiting a variety of disguises as he dupes everyone from Bernie Sanders to Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin.
Cohen's show made headlines before it even premiered when it was revealed he convinced Republican politicians to endorse a plan to train preschoolers how to fire a gun.
'Once I knew it was Borat, we always know his game and his bulls**t,' Sweidan said.
'He was fake, the producers were fake, the show was fake, and Showtime is fake. They want a real story, come talk to us. We'll give you a real story.'
Sweidan said he kicked out Cohen's crew from his store after the actor left and told them they were 'full of s**t'
Sweidan believed Cohen wanted to feature him and his Riverside, California store (pictured) on his new Showtime show 'Who Is America?' to make a 'mockery' of gun owners
While Sweidan was able to see through Cohen's alleged disguise, Philip Van Cleave wasn't so lucky.
Cohen duped the gun rights activist into promoting 'Puppy Pistols' for three-year-old children in an episode for his show.
Van Cleave even agreed to help Cohen, masquerading as Israeli 'anti-terror expert' Erran Morad, create a 'common sense training' instructional video for toddlers that featured 'gunimals'.
'I think it would be a good idea,' Van Cleave tells Morad when he learns of the plan.
While Sweidan was able to see through Cohen's alleged disguise, Cohen was able to convince gun rights activist Philip Van Cleave (pictured) to make a video promoting 'gunimals'
Van Cleave even agreed to help Cohen, masquerading as Israeli 'anti-terror expert' Erran Morad, create a 'common sense training' instructional video for toddlers with the 'gunimals'
Van Cleave told Cohen he thought it would be a good idea and that he had been pushing for something similar 'for years'
'I've been pushing something along this line for years but really haven't got any traction. We were thinking seventh or eighth grade - you've gone much younger than that.'
At one point in the video he holds a gun wrapped in a stuffed dog and says: 'Today we're going to teach you how you can stop these naughty men and have them take a long nap.'
'Just remember to point puppy pistol's mouth right at the middle of the bad man. If he has a big fat tummy, point at that.'
Later, in a twist on a popular children's song, Van Cleave sings: 'Aim at the head, shoulders, not the toes, not the toes.
'Just remember to point Puppy Pistol's mouth at the middle of the bad man,' Cleave says in the shocking segment
Cohen's new Showtime series made headlines before its premiere on Sunday when it was revealed that he also tricked Dick Cheney and Roy Moore
'Head, shoulders, not the toes, not the toes,' he adds before Cohen shouts 'fire!'
Trailed by a blaze of pre-launch publicity and a furious backlash from public figures who believe they've been pranked, the premiere for Cohen's show was viewed by more than one million people on Sunday night.
Teasers for the new series saw Cheney signing a 'waterboard kit' and Palin unleash a furious Facebook attack, upset to have been one of Cohen's pranked subjects.
In a clip released just hours before the show's official premiere on Sunday, Cohen is shown disguised as Morad.
In the premiere of his new show, Cohen manages to dupe politicians including former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (left) and ex-Congressman Joe Walsh (right)
Current Republican House members Rep Dana Rohrabacher and Rep Joe Wilson lso endorsed a fake program that calls for arming children as young as four with weapons
In one part of the teaser, he sits down with current and former congressmen and gets them to endorse a program that aims 'to get deadly weapons in the hands of schoolchildren' in an effort to prevent campus shootings.
Later, Morad heads to Washington to recruit more politicians to the cause.
'I support the "kinder guardians' program", one-time Republican Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott says into the camera.
'We in America would be wise to implement it, too.'
'Its something we should think about in America. Whether they be teachers, or whether they actually be talented children or highly trained preschoolers.'
California Rep Dana Rohrabacher, former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh, and South Carolina Rep Joe Wilson are also seen endorsing the initiative.
Executive director emeritus of Gun Owners of America, Larry Pratt (pictured) unwittingly helped Cohen (pictured left without disguise) get interviews with politicians in Washington
Executive director emeritus of Gun Owners of America, Larry Pratt - who unwittingly helped Cohen get in touch with the politicians featured in the segment - is also asked if he can help get legislation passed allowing four-year-olds access to weapons.
'Do you think the liberals are using these school shootings to further their anti-tragedy agenda?' Morad asks Pratt.
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'They're trying but it's not that hard to find a student who does think that way because that's what they are being taught in the schools,' he replies.
Morad continued: 'We actually found out that in the schools, it's not only important to arm the teachers, it's important to arm certain gifted children.'
'Oh that's great!' Pratt replied.
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