FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (NEXSTAR) — Video being widely shared on social media shows a group of Black soldiers being harassed at a northern Virginia restaurant by a woman who used racist language.
The incident happened April 19 while the soldiers, from Fort Belvoir, grabbed lunch at an off-base IHOP restaurant, the Army Times reports.
“She offered to pay for their meal, which is not uncommon when people meet military personnel, it’s a gesture as a way to thank them for their service,” said Joe Richard, director of public affairs for Fort Belvoir, told the Army Times. “She placed $30 on their table.”
The woman later returned, however, and claimed they had taken her money, Washington TV station WUSA reported.
TikTok video shows the woman sitting down at the soldiers’ table and refusing to leave after one of the men can be heard asking her to “please walk away.”
Warning: Video contains graphic language
Richard told the Army Times that the woman directed racial slurs at them.
The video also shows the woman threatening another person who tried to intervene.
On the way out of the restaurant she can be heard yelling, “Are you the thin blue line, are you BLM, are you antifa?”
The soldiers left the restaurant, returned to the base and reported the incident to their leadership, according to the station.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
