A report about a Tim Hortons manager propositioning a minor to marry her brother drew the ire of some Rebel News critics — simply because a police officer stood up for the rights of independent journalists.

Tamara Ugolini spoke to the girl's uncle, who revealed the 17-year-old “had to quit her job as a result of the treatment she received, not only by the manager who made her feel extremely uncomfortable as a result of this proposition, but her coworkers and her other manager.”

As part of the investigation, Tamara spoke to staff at the Picton, Ont. business to ask questions about the incident that saw the young girl offered $20,000. “They said no comment,” she explained on Thursday's Rebel Roundup livestream.

“I was just getting ready to head home, and the cops pull in, the (Ontario Provincial Police),” she continued, noting the officers spoke to a protester who had been recently trespassed from the property. “The police thought they were getting called because this guy went into the Tim Hortons and broke that trespass order.”

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The main clarified he hadn't been in the establishment, leading Tamara to follow the OPP officers into the building to see what the response was about. Once inside, a staffer suggested Tamara had been trespassing on the property.

“She is an independent journalist,” the officer replied. “She was never trespassed from the property; she has her 100% rights to be here. Just because your boss doesn't like the fact that an independent journalist is in here video recording, that's not up to him. She has the right to do that.”

But some online critics, like Ottawa lawyer Paul Champ, took a different view. “This police officer is wrong,” asserted Champ in a social media post.

“The manager of the establishment, and actually the guy on duty behind the desk, have the right to refuse service and trespass Rebel News on private property. He needs some re-training and should apologize to these folks.

However, “there was no confrontation; no one at any time asked me to leave,” clarified Tamara. “We're so used to being treated unfairly by police, and so when you see a good cop standing up for what is just and what is right, it went viral.”

“No one spoke to me; nothing was wrong. I collected some visuals for my report, and I went on my merry way,” she said.