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A Maryland man has sued his local bar for discrimination after they permanently banned him over his age and race, a new lawsuit claims.
Dan’s Restaurant and Taphouse has sparked a full-blown culture war in the small town of Boonsboro, Maryland, after a bartender allegedly threw the customer out because he’s an ‘old, white man.’
Neal Glessner, 52, used to spend at least $500 a week at the local restaurant – but he filed a lawsuit against them in federal and state court, claiming he faced discrimination at the hands of staff on February 18, 2022.
However, owner Charlotte Aufdem-Brinke claims there were ‘repeated occurrences of disruptive behavior against members of our team’ which triggered the ceremonious ban.
Mike Skinner, the manager who was working at Dan’s at the time, verbally barred Glessner and his friend from the premises and called the police, in a clip caught on bodycam footage.
He allegedly exclaimed to Glessner’s friend Joseph Michael – who just so happened to be the Deputy State’s Attorney just appointed Judge – ‘You old, white people act like you own everything. Get the f*** out of here!’
Neal Glessner, 52, filed a lawsuit against them in federal and state court, claiming he’s faced discrimination at the hands of bar staff
Mike Skinner (pictured), the manager who was working at Dan’s at the time, verbally barred Glessner and his friend from the premises and called the police, in a clip caught on bodycam footage. Although not captured in the clip, the lawsuit claims he said: ‘All of you old white men act like you own everything. Just get the f*** out. Neither of you are welcome here’
The pair had been complaining about waiting 40 minutes for a to-go order.
In the unearthed bodycam footage, Michael is heard said: ‘I’m happy to go…but I just need to know if I’m banned or not?’
The manager Mike Skinner, responds: ‘Yes, you are banned. You are not allowed to come back in here.’
Although not captured in the footage, Glessner alleges the manager continued: ‘All of you old white men act like you own everything. Just get the f*** out. Neither of you are welcome here.’
Neal Glessner, who is the chairman of a technology company, said in a statement: ‘Anyone that thinks this is about BLM, Trump or any other political issue is ignoring the facts so they can promote an agenda that is not mine.’
The ordeal has sparked a proxy war in the sleepy town. On Saturday, a group of a dozen protesters – headed by Shawn Porter – stood outside the restaurant, with signs that read: ‘Old White Men’s Lives Matter’ and ‘It Is Okay To Be White.’
Owner Charlotte Aufdem-Brinke says there were ‘repeated occurrences of disruptive behavior against members of our team’ which caused the ban
And the group held a large red sign, reading: ‘No Soup For You!! No Old Farts!!!’ along with a reference to the ‘Soup Nazi’ from comedy show Seinfeld.
The battle between the opposing sides has also spewed online. Dozens of locals in the small town have got involved, giving their opinion, while both the plaintiff and defendants give status updates nearly daily.
Skinner, the manager, gawked at the small number of protesters who rallied against his place of work, while owner Aufdem-Brinke bragged that business has never been better.
She also claims that the fallout from the ban has been a ‘coordinated personal attack against our business.’
Meanwhile Porter, one of Glessner’s main supporters, has been updating his followers in a series of dramatic monologues and rabble-rousing recordings from the protest, posting them on YouTube.
The restaurant was closed over the weekend to give staff a ‘much needed rest’ and they wrote on their windows: ‘They tried to bury us, but they don’t know we are seeds.’
According to the lawsuit, since being banished from the restaurant, the plaintiff ‘has become aware of approximately a half-dozen other white men who have been barred from Dan’s for otherwise inexplicable reasons.’
Glessner said that he has suffered – and will continue to suffer – ‘irreparable economic loss, humiliation, embarrassment, mental and emotional distress, and strain on relationships’ following the ordeal.
Charlotte Aufdem-Brinke, the co-owner along with her ex-husband Daniel, wrote on social media: ‘Dan and I opened our restaurant in 2012 based upon a shared set of values and a clear vision of what we wanted this space to become. We wanted to offer Boonsboro a place where everyone feels a sense of belonging.
‘Mr. Glessner has filed a frivolous lawsuit and, through a non-stop blitz of social media posts and appearances in fringe media outlets, have leveled a series of false, baseless and preposterous accusations against our team.
Bodycam footage showed the moment that Neal Glessner and his friend Joseph Michael were banned from the restaurant
Dan’s Restaurant and Taphouse has sparked a culture war in the small town of Boonsboro, Maryland, after a bartender allegedly threw a customer out because he’s an ‘old, white man’
The group held a large red sign, reading: ‘No Soup For You!! No Old Farts!!!’ along with a reference to the ‘Soup Nazi’ from comedy show Seinfeld
The ban and lawsuit has created a proxy war in the small Maryland town. Protesters came out in their small forces on the weekend, with posters rallying against the restaurant
The owners of the restaurant are Dan (pictured) and Charlotte Aufdem-Brinke
‘The team at Dan’s Taphouse works hard to provide a welcoming experience for our guests and a workplace where our team members are treated with respect. Any behavior that violates those standards is unacceptable. Mr. Glessner was asked to leave our restaurant due to repeated occurrences of disruptive behavior against members of our team. Nothing more. Nothing less.’
Speaking to DailyMail.com, Glessner added: ‘There is a deep chasm in our typically tight-knit community. Regretfully, Dan and Charlotte Aufdem-Brinke are trying to paint me as an angry racist who is willfully acting to dismantle their business with what they term ‘a frivolous, baseless lawsuit.’ This couldn’t be further from the truth.
‘While I do feel Dan and Charlotte discriminated against me because of my age and race and have sufficient evidence to prove this in a federal court of law, they have an undeniable history of mistreating and discriminating against many others in our community due to age, race, and political affiliations.
‘While it is easy for the owners to say that they insist their team members and guests be treated with respect by employees, you need look no farther than the social media posts of the restaurant’s management and staff to see the hate-filled speech and ‘get-even’ attitudes on their personal accounts. Clearly their insistence on respect is little more than an empty promise.
‘Shame on Dan and Charlotte for condoning this kind of behavior and defending it now. As owners of a well-known establishment in our town, is it not the Aufem-Brinke’s moral and ethical responsibility to respect everyone equally, not just those whom they deem ‘worthy?’
‘I do not want to continue the negative back-and-forth that is tearing our wonderful community apart. More divisiveness in our community is not what we need.’
Responding to the lawsuit, Aufdem-Brinke told DailyMail.com: ‘Neal Glessner’s lawsuit is beyond preposterous, and is based solely on his animosity toward my personal views and our advocacy for social and economic justice.
‘His nonstop efforts to promote the lawsuit on far-right media outlets such as the One America News Network, and the social media harassment that has been carried out by far-right agitators like Shaun Porter, are simply an effort to bully a successful small businesswoman and community activist into submission.’
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