Protests outside DC bar after video of security dragging woman downstairs
‘Nellie’s has the audacity to have Black Lives Matter sign in their window’, says protester amid outrage
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Your support makes all the difference.A sports bar in Washington DC was the centre of protests at the weekend after video emerged of a woman being dragged downstairs by security.
On Sunday, a crowd assembled in front of Nellie’s Sports Bar, near to the African American War Museum, in the wake of the footage.
Video of the protest was shared on Twitter, with the hashtags #BoycottNellies and #NoPrideForNellies.
In footage first shared to Instagram on Sunday, a woman identified as Keisha Young was reportedly dragged down a staircase inside the Nellie’s Sport’s Bar late on Saturday. She allegedly suffered bruising.
Tammy Young, the young woman’s mother, was first to share the footage. An account apparently belonging to Ms Young was tagged in a post.
“Do not play when it comes to my daughter yo!!”, the mother wrote in a caption on Instagram. “You see how your security guards dragging my daughter down the f******g steps and yes my niece and nephews jumped in to save her”.
“You will be hearing from my lawyer,” added the woman, “Please we need justice”.
Ms Young, in an Instagram story on Sunday night, added: “I’m gonna get them [Nellie’s Sports Bar] shut down, just watch. I’m ok y’all thanks for everybody who tried to check on me”.
The bar said in a statement on Facebook that it was investigating the incident, and that it was “incredibly upset and disturbed” by the footage.
“We are undergoing a full investigation of the situation. At Nellie’s we foster an inclusive and safe environment, so events like this are completely unacceptable to us," it added.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department told WTOP News that there were no arrest at the protest outside the bar on Sunday.
A protester claimed to a reporter at the scene, Chuck Modi, that “Nellie’s has the audacity to have Black Lives Matter sign in their window. Nellie’s is racist as f***”.
“You can smell the slavery in the air when you walk in that place, it’s worse than walking into f*****g Cracker Bear,” added the woman. “The [BLM] movement has been commodified so much that companies like Nellie’s can put Black Lives Matter on the window, take our money, and still treat us like trash.”
Ms Young, meanwhile, has set up a donation page on GoFundMe for “for legal fees, medical bills & mental therapy.” It has so far raised more than $800 (£567).
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