Maryland man sues local tavern for kicking him out over being 'old and white'

A 52-year-old man has filed a lawsuit against his local tavern alleging that his race and age were determining factors in the establishment's decision to ban him from the premises.

Neal Glessner of Boonsboro, Maryland claimed that he and his friend, Judge Joseph Michael, were kicked out of Dan's Restaurant and Taphouse because they were "old white men."



In his lawsuit, Glessner claimed that he was discriminated against while waiting for his takeout order at Dan's on February 18. After complaining that their food had still not come out of the kitchen after forty minutes, manager Mike Skinner told them he'd heard enough and asked them to leave before calling the police.

"I'm happy to go," Michael can be heard saying in bodycam footage of the incident, "but I just need to know if I'm banned or not."

"Yes, you are banned," Skinner replied. "You are not allowed to come back in here."

Though not heard in the footage, Glessner alleged that Skinner then said, "All of you old white men act like you own everything. Just get the f*ck out. Neither of you are welcome here."

Glessner has claimed that the incident left him with "irreparable economic loss, humiliation, embarrassment, mental and emotional distress, and strain on relationships." 

He stated in the lawsuit that since being kicked out, he was made aware of six other white men who were "barred from Dan's for otherwise inexplicable reasons."

"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," Glessner told the Daily Mail, adding, "they have an undeniable history of mistreating and discriminating against many others in our community due to age, race, and political affiliations."

Charlotte Aufdem-Brinke, who owns the restaurant with her ex-husband Dan, told a different story, claiming that Glessner and Michael had been asked to leave after "repeated occurrences of disruptive behavior against members of our team."

"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," she said on social media. "We wanted to offer Boonsboro a place where everyone feels a sense of belonging."

The incident has led to a series of small protests outside the restaurant, with people holding up signs saying "It's ok to be white," and, "Racists work here."