Owner of LGBTQ restaurant still supports protest that ended with vandalism over alleged white supremacy

A high-end restaurant in Portland, Oregon, had to shut down after it served a group accused by left-wing protesters of being white supremacist.Clarklewis was vandalized on Sunday after leftist activists allegedly confronted the group. A window was broken, and employees at the restaurant were traumatized.'I totally support the protest. ... I support what they're doing, but they totally misplaced it on this restaurant.'Joe Rogers, one of the owners of the restaurant, said the establishment doesn't support white supremacy and did not know anything about the group because it had a nondescript name."We knew people were coming for brunch, and we knew they were called the Oregon Group," he said, according to the Oregonian. "We knew that they had some Christian affiliation, which, of course, we allow Christians into our business."He told KOIN: "Sure, if they walk in and they’re awful, and they’re obviously somebody that’s not going to be kind to our staff or to other guests, we’re going to ask them to leave."The left-wing activists reportedly planned a protest against the group in part because of flyers they saw online.The confrontation between the allegedly racist group and the left-wing protesters led to one worker quitting on the spot and others going home for the day, according to Rogers. Some also hid upstairs, he added, according to the Oregonian.He said the group paid about $2,000 to rent a space but that he would be donating the money to a charity in order to show goodwill to the community.RELATED: Liberals are lashing out at Guy Fieri after he was photographed with Donald Trump at UFC event Even more ironic is that the restaurant is LGBTQ+-owned and has displayed a Pride flag for many years.A spokesperson for the Portland Police Bureau said that police initially responded to the restaurant at about 2 p.m. that day but that there was no property damage, so they left. They were called once again, and when they returned, they found a window broken.Rogers said one person in the group wore a shirt with a white nationalist slogan."Nobody was paying attention to what their T-shirt said," he added. "And I think at the end, when they were handing out pamphlets, I think the reason if they're handing out pamphlets at the end, it's because they knew they had started doing it before they would have been kicked out."Police said they tried to determine who broke the window but were unsuccessful, and no arrests were made."I totally support the protest," Rogers said to the Oregonian. "I support what they're doing, but they totally misplaced it on this restaurant."It is unclear whether the restaurant has reopened.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Owner of LGBTQ restaurant still supports protest that ended with vandalism over alleged white supremacy

TL;DR

  • Clarklewis, an LGBTQ+-owned restaurant in Portland, Oregon, was vandalized after serving a group accused by left-wing protesters of white supremacy.
  • The protest led to a broken window, traumatized employees, and the restaurant's temporary closure.
  • Restaurant owner Joe Rogers stated that the establishment does not support white supremacy and was unaware of the group's alleged affiliations.
  • Rogers supports the protest's goals but believes the restaurant was misidentified as the target.
  • The restaurant plans to donate the $2,000 paid by the group to charity.
  • Police responded to the incident but were unable to identify who broke the window, and no arrests were made.