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.
“Democrats are out of control! Now help me load up this bucket of dog shit to throw at Red Lobster because it sounds like Red Hen.”
— Jess Dweck (@TheDweck) June 27, 2018
I’m missing all the calls for civility for the man who shouted make America great again and threw chicken sh*t at the Red Hen -and/or Trump supporters carrying homophobic signs. Oh, that’s okay because we need to grant them understanding.
— Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) June 27, 2018
BREAKING: President Trump declares man who threw poop at the Red Hen while shouting “Make America Great Again” a hero, offers him job as Press Sec.
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) June 27, 2018
So weird. My idea of civility always involved LESS poop throwing. https://t.co/SHGh8MpFeO
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) June 27, 2018
‘Civility’ outside the Red Hen restaurant. pic.twitter.com/qo5sipnPe4
— Greg Hogben (@MyDaughtersArmy) June 27, 2018
FWIW (which is very little at this point) someone egged the red hen in dc this week 🙃 pic.twitter.com/bfce6450DN
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) June 27, 2018
it's worth saying that the Red Hen restaurant didn't stir national debate, Sarah Huckabee Sanders did, by tweeting the name and location of the restaurant from her official account. https://t.co/7zJjgbfj3N pic.twitter.com/af6KAa49Hv
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) June 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/aravosis/status/1011794861689901056
Should we wait a few more days for Trump supporters to stop makin' death threats against Red Hen restaurant owners before callin' for #Civility?https://t.co/8ti5ONL6ZL
— Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) June 26, 2018
I made a little montage of all the civility we enjoyed before the Red Hen blew it up pic.twitter.com/ASGZsXnXj4
— Scott Shapiro (@scottjshapiro) June 25, 2018
It seems unlikely that this controversy is going to die down anytime soon.
(Via Washington Post, USA Today)