Washington, D.C
DC food workers pledge to make Trump officials unwelcome, echoing confrontations in first term
Washington, D.C.-area restaurants once again will not be free from politics as the Trump team prepares to settle into the nation’s capital for a second term.
Food workers inside the Beltway are prepared to refuse service and cause other inconveniences for members of the incoming Trump administration, but this is not the first time the administration and allies will have to deal with harassment while sitting down to dinner.
In September 2018, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his wife were harassed at Fiola, an upscale Italian restaurant in Washington, D.C. Protesters confronted them over Cruz’s support for then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during his contentious confirmation hearings. Videos circulated online showing demonstrators shouting at the couple, chanting, “We believe survivors.” Cruz and his wife eventually left the restaurant due to the altercation.
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Ted Cruz was heckled out of a Washington D.C. restaurant by a group of protesters opposing the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh in September 2018. (Smash Racism DC)
This incident was part of a broader wave of confrontations involving Trump administration officials and allies over the summer that year.
As such, in June 2018, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen was confronted by protesters at MXDC Cocina Mexicana, a Mexican restaurant in Washington, D.C., over the Trump administration’s family separation policy at the U.S.-Mexico border. Protesters chanted, “Shame!” and called her a “villain,” forcing her to leave.
Senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, known for his role in shaping immigration policy, recounted an incident when he went to pick up an $80 sushi order from a restaurant near his apartment that same month. As he left, the bartender followed him outside, called out his name and, when Miller turned around, gave him a double middle finger. He threw away the sushi out of fear someone in the restaurant had tampered with the food, the New York Post reported at the time.
DC FOOD WORKERS VOW TRUMP OFFICIALS WON’T FEEL WELCOMED WHEN DINING OUT IN NATION’S CAPITAL
President-elect Donald Trump. (Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty Images)
Also in June 2018, the owner of The Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, asked then-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave, citing opposition to the Trump administration’s tough immigration policies.
Industry veterans, bartenders and servers in the nation’s capital told the Washingtonian this week that resistance to the Republican figures in the progressive city was inevitable and a matter of conscience.
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Protesters march in reaction to the upset election of Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the race for President of the United States on Nov. 12, 2016 in Los Angeles. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
“You expect the masses to just ignore RFK eating at Le Diplomate on a Sunday morning after a few mimosas and not to throw a drink in his face?,” said Zac Hoffman, a Washington, D.C., restaurant veteran who is now a manager at the National Democratic Club.
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Not every liberal hospitality sector worker in the report planned to protest the incoming administration while doing their job, however.
A bartender named Joseph said while he was disappointed by the election results, he was looking forward to higher tips with more Republicans in Washington.
Fox News Digital’s Kristine Parks contributed to this report.
TNND — A new report from the House Oversight Committee alleges former D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith pressured officers to manipulate crime data. The committee released the report on Sunday, less than a week after Smith announced she was stepping down.
You’re lulling people into this false sense of security. They might go places they wouldn’t ordinarily go. They might do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do,” said Betsy Brantner Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association.
Included in the report were transcribed interviews with the commanders of all seven D.C. patrol districts and the former commander currently on suspended leave. One was asked, “Over the last few years, has there been any internal pressure to simply bring down crime statistics?” Their response, “Yes, I mean extremethere’s always been pressure to keep crime down, but the focus on statistics… has come in with this current administration.”
Every single person who lives, works, or visits the District of Columbia deserves a safe city, yet it’s now clear the American people were deliberately kept in the dark about the true crime rates in our nation’s capital,” House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) said in a statement.
“They are going to have to regain the public trust. Again, this is a huge integrity issue,” Brantner Smith said.
Among the reports findings, Smith’s alleged pressured campaign against staff led to inaccurate crime data. Smith punished or removed officers for reporting accurate crime numbers. Smith fostered a toxic culture and President Trump’s federal law enforcement surge in D.C. is working.
While Smith has not yet publicly responded to the report, she’s previously denied allegations of manipulating crime data, saying the investigation did not play a factor into her decision to step down at the end of the year.
My decision was not factored into anything with respect to, other than the fact that it’s time. I’ve had 28 years in law enforcement. I’ve had some time to think with my family,” Smith said earlier this month.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also released a statement Monday, writing in part that “the interim report betrays its bias from the outset, admitting that it was rushed to release.”
According to crime stats from the Metropolitan Police Department, since the federal law enforcement surge started in August, total violent crime is down 26%. Homicides are down 12% and carjackings 37%.
The first candle lit on the National Menorah near the White House in Washington, D.C., marked the first night of Hanukkah — and solemnly honored victims of the Bondi Beach shooting.
The National Menorah Lighting was held Sunday night, hours after gunmen opened fire on a crowd celebrating the beginning of Hanukkah at Australia’s iconic Bondi Beach. Fifteen people were killed, including a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor, and over three dozen others were being treated at hospitals.
Authorities in Australia said it was a terrorist attack targeting Jewish people.
Organizers behind the National Menorah Lighting said the news from Australia, along with the bitter cold, forced them to consider whether or not to hold the annual event.
After consulting with local law enforcement, National Menorah Lighting organizers decided to hold the event and honor the victims.
Several D.C.-area police departments issued statements confirming there are no known threats to local communities, but are monitoring just in case.
Montgomery County Executive Mark Elrich condemned the attack and said community safety is a priority.
“Acts of antisemitism, especially those meant to intimidate families and communities during moments of gathering and celebration, must be called out clearly and condemned without hesitation,” Elrich said. “I have heard directly from members of Montgomery County’s Jewish community who are shaken and concerned, and I want them to know that their safety is a priority.”
WASHINGTON (7News) — Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith is facing yet another scathing report accusing her of manipulating crime data in the city.
The 22-page document from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform comes less than a week after a separate draft report from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and days after Chief Smith turned in her resignation.
The main difference between the Congressional report and the DOJ report is that this new one, released on December 14, contains transcribed interviews directly with commanders from all seven MPD patrol districts.
RELATED | DC Police settles with former employee over claims that crime numbers were manipulated
The testimony reveals how Chief Smith chastised and, in some cases, publicly humiliated staff in crime briefings.
“The Committee’s investigation heard consistent testimony about frustration and exhaustion among MPD commanders and the manifestation of a culture of fear, intimidation, threats, and retaliation by Chief Smith. Often, these manifestations were triggered whenever the Chief was presented with what she considers ‘bad news,’ particularly when that news pertained to any rise in public crime statistics. Chief Smith, according to testimonies, regularly took action against her subordinates who failed to aid in the preservation of her public image,” the report states on page two.
RELATED | Trump announces probe into DC police for inflating crime stats amid safety claims
The committee launched the investigation in August when whistleblowers came forward with concerns about data manipulation.
One line of questioning in the report states:
Question: Over the last few years, has there been any internal pressure to simply bring down crime statistics?
Answer: Yes, I mean extreme… there’s always been pressure to keep crime down, but the focus on statistics… has come in with this current administration or regime, and you know, that has manifested publicly.
7News reached out to Mayor Bowser’s Office for a comment in response to the report. A spokesperson provided the following statement:
The men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department run towards danger every day to reduce homicides, carjackings, armed robberies, sexual assaults, and more. The precipitous decline in crime in our city is attributable to their hard work and dedication and Chief Smith’s leadership.
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I thank Chief Smith for her commitment to the safety of D.C. residents and for holding the Metropolitan Police Department to an exacting standard, and I expect no less from our next Chief of Police.
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