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The Red Hen Restaurant In Lexington, Virginia Was Forced To Close After Protests And Threats

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All hell broke out on the otherwise sleepy downtown area of Lexington, Virginia, on Tuesday, thanks to the firestorm surrounding the owner of the Red Hen restaurant turning away Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her family on Saturday night. The restaurant is closed on Sunday and Monday, so Tuesday dinner service was the first time the restaurant would have normally been open since the controversy broke.

The Red Hen had planned to open at 5:00 p.m. as scheduled, however after both protesters and supporters of the business began showing up hours earlier in the afternoon, the restaurant remained dark throughout the evening. Initially, the Washington Post reports that it was just two men holding Trump banners and a confederate flag, but eventually the crowd grew so thick that police were forced to actually close off the street.

One gentleman of clearly extraordinary intelligence even showed up with a bucket of chicken manure, and was promptly arrested after dumping it on the front of the restaurant — as you can see in the local news report, below.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Wilkinson, the owner of the Red Hen, has resigned from her position as executive director of the Main Street Lexington Board of Directors. The president of the organization, Elizabeth Branner said, “Considering the events of the past weekend, Stephanie felt it best that for the continued success of Main Street Lexington, she should step aside.”

In light of the ongoing protests — which include Trump supporters actually sending death threats to the owner of an unaffiliated Red Hen restaurant — many people are mocking the so-called “calls for civility” from both Republicans and Democrats. Following the dust-up with Huckabee Sanders, Democratic House member Maxine Waters encouraged supporters to continue harassing members of the Trump administration, which was quickly admonished by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

As many are pointing out however, that seems to be the least of our problems when you consider the continued conduct of some Trump supporters.

https://twitter.com/aravosis/status/1011794861689901056

It seems unlikely that this controversy is going to die down anytime soon.

(Via Washington Post, USA Today)