Sanders was kicked out of The Red Hen Restaurant, but as WND previously reported, the Virginia restaurant owner did not stop her political activism after the incident.
Sanders’ father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told the Laura Ingraham radio show that Stephanie Wilkinson, the owner of The Red Hen, followed family members to a restaurant across the street, where she organised a protest.
“The owner of The Red Hen then followed them across the street, called people and organized a protest, yelling and screaming at them from outside the other restaurant and creating this scene,” Mike Huckabee told Ingraham.
One of the family members eventually walked out and told the protesters: “Look, I don’t like Trump. I’m not a supporter, I’m considered liberal, but you guys are embarrassing me, and you’re not helping the cause.”
Now, members from Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County met with the Lexington City Council, and “each locality agreed the region was in desperate need of positive coverage after The Red Hen incident,” reported the Roanoke Times.
Officials with Rockbridge Regional Tourism Board say they are struggling to attract visitors in the wake of the restaurant expulsion and protests.
“Director of Marketing Patty Williams said the area is still feeling effects from the controversy – the tourism office received a letter Thursday from a family in Georgia who said they would never come back to the area because of what happened. And during the immediate aftermath of the incident, the tourism office received thousands of phone calls and emails.”
Williams added: “For a town our size, it was a significant impact.”
Ingraham cited reports saying that Wilkinson decided to boot Sanders from her restaurant after taking a vote of employees, some of whom are gay.
The owner asked Sanders and her husband leave after they already had started eating. They quietly got up and left.
