A North Texas veteran made headlines earlier this month after a video surfaced of a Chili's manager taking away his complimentary Veteran's Day meal. Ernest Walker said that the manager began to question his veteran status after a man wearing a Donald Trump t-shirt complained about Walker's credibility. The video of the confrontation has since received more than one million views. Chili's issued an apology to Walker and the man in the video is no longer a manager for the restaurant. The Pentagon also confirmed Walker's military status.
Walker told WFAA-TV that he did not expect the backlash to follow.
Days later, Walker and his family began receiving threatening phone calls, letters and social media messages.
“We’ve received phone calls, and it’s always a restricted line,” Walker told WFAA. “People are saying, ‘hey, we know where you live.’”
Walker says his dog was even threatened. After a Dallas media agency published Walker's address, he made the decision to move his family from North Texas. Walker says he's now putting forth energy into helping other veterans. Next month he plans to host a free luncheon for veterans.
“This country right now is wounded,” Walker said. “There needs to be a healing process. For the people that reached out to me from all different colors, races, creeds and religions, that let me know there is hope for this country.”
