A disturbing series of videos posted to TikTok shows a white woman in Virginia harassing several Black soldiers at an IHOP and cursing out another patron who intervened.
The first video, recorded by one of the soldiers, begins with the woman approaching the men at their table for an unknown reason and calling them "s**tbags." Although the video captures some of the incident, it's unclear what took place before the recording began.
"Just so you know I came back in to give her the rest of the cash from my wallet because you guys are s**tbags," she said.
The soldiers then politely asked the aggressive white woman to leave.
"Ma'am can you please?" they asked repeatedly.
But she proceeded to sit next to them at their table, blocking their path as they tried to leave.
Another man intervened to assist the soldiers, telling the woman to be quiet and walk away. As the man asked for somebody to call the police, the woman goes off on a rant.
"Are you BLM? Are you Antifa?" she said while walking away.
@musiqcitizen
Another video shows the woman threatening the man who intervened.
"Fine motherf**ker. I will f**kin' drop you," she said. "You wanna go? You wanna go?"
@musiqcitizen Air Force Vet steps in to defends us from Racist White Woman ‼️‼️##SoldierLivesMatter
##SayNoToRacism
The troubling scene was seen from multiple angles as a few of the soldiers recorded the incident on their phones.
@musiqcitizen Part 3 !!! Stop harassing US Soldiers !! ##SoldierLivesMatter
One of the soldiers commented on the incident in a follow-up video. The soldier thanked the people who showed support after seeing the clip. He also shared some lessons people can learn from watching the footage.
"It's not what people call you, but it's what you respond to," he said. "Folks can say whatever they want about you, but it's what you respond to that really matters. If you're weird that's OK. If you have a big head, that's OK. Embrace, love yourself because God created you in the image that he wanted you to be created in."
The man added that he has since forgiven the woman.
"Let's just move on from this," he said. "Say no to racism."
According to the soldier, the incident is now under investigation.
@musiqcitizen Soldier Responds To Racist Encounter ❤️##SayNoToRacism
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The soldiers, stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, went to lunch at an off-post IHOP on April 19 when the incident happened, the Military Times reported.
Joe Richard, director of public affairs for Fort Belvoir, said the woman first offered to pay for the soldiers' meal.
"It’s a gesture as a way to thank them for their service,” Richard told the Military Times. “She placed $30 on their table.”
But the woman took back $24 a short time later and left just $6 on the table for some reason, according to Richard.
“She became antagonistic, claiming the soldiers had taken her money and directed racially charged language at the soldiers,” he said.
In a statement to The Hill, IHOP said it doesn't condone the woman's actions and "will not tolerate racism, bigotry or harassment of any kind."
"For more than 60 years, we have strived to create a warm and hospitable dining experience for all guests, and this isolated incident is not reflected of that ongoing commitment," the chain stated.
