'You are not allowed here ever again': Waitress kicks out Trump supporter who racially abused diners
Man told to leave restaurant after racist tirade at family celebrating an aunt’s birthday
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A white man was filmed racially abusing diners at the Bernardus Lodge & Spa, in Carmel Valley, California, before being kicked out by the waitress.
The man, who social media users and Heavy identified as Michael Lofthouse, was filmed on Saturday evening telling an Asian American family that “Trump is gonna f*** you,” while they dined at the Lucia Restaurant & Bar, situated at the spa.
The incident was filmed by Jordan Chan, who was at the restaurant celebrating her aunt’s birthday, when the man believed to be Mr Lofthouse, who is the CEO of tech startup Solid8 based in Silicon Valley, started shouting racist remarks at her family.
Mr Lofthouse. is reportedly originally from the UK but now lives in San Francisco,
The man put his middle finger up at the diners, after they asked him to repeat a remark that was not heard on camera.
After he was told to leave the restaurant by the family and the waitress, he said: “You f*****s need to leave.”
As he put his jacket on, he called the family: “F*****g Asian piece of s***,” before adding: “Yeah, I’m out,” when told to leave by the waitress.
The server continued to shout at him to get out, and after a small argument, the man pointed to the family and said: “Who are these f*****s?”
He was told by the waitress that the family “are valued guests,” and he sarcastically responded: “Oh are they? Valued guests in America?”
The family called him a racist, and the waitress told him: “You are not allowed here ever again,” before the video cut out.
Ms Chan posted the video to Instagram, and it is included below. The video contains explicit language.
Chris Philpott, who is a friend of the family who were racially abused, posted a screenshot of a member of the public reportedly criticising Mr Lofthouse on Facebook for the racial abuse directed at the family.
Responding to the criticism, an account with Mr Lofthouse's name and picture said: “Asian f***. Come near me or my people and u r f*****g dead.”
Sean Damery, the regional vice president of Bernardus Lodge & Spa confirmed to The Independent that Mr Lofthouse was not a guest at the hotel.
“This is an extremely unfortunate situation, however we are proud of our staff at Lucia in keeping with Bernardus Lodge’s core values; this incident was handled swiftly and the diner was escorted off property without further escalation,” he added.
“We provide guests with a safe environment for lodging and dining; and extend our sincere apologies to the guests enjoying a birthday celebration on a holiday weekend.”
In May, it was reported that hundreds of Asian Americans had been violently attacked because of racism linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
President Donald Trump and his followers have repeatedly referred to Covid-19 as “kung flu,” or “Chinese virus,” which The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council and Chinese for Affirmative Action found correlated with spikes of violence.
CBS reported on Sunday that more than 800 hate crimes against Asian Americans had been reported in California in the three months since the crisis began.
A spokesperson for California governor Gavin Newsom told CBS: “Racism and xenophobia have no place in California — not during a public health emergency when it is essential we come together to support all of our communities — not ever.”
The Independent has contacted Mr Lofthouse for comment.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments