Ernest Walker, the Army veteran who on Veteran’s Day was denied his free meal at Chili’s when his service was questioned, has had to move out of his home because of threats that he received since his contact information was published with the story.
The day after Veteran’s Day, Walker had posted to Facebook to tell the story of how his free meal was taken away after a customer questioned the uniform that he was wearing.
–Chili’s apologizes for taking meal from black veteran on Veterans Day–
“He (the manager) really made me feel like I was almost like a slave who had to show paperwork to show my freedom,” Walker told CNN’s Don Lemon.
“I do believe that I was singled out, as a black man, in that restaurant,” he said. “I’ve had racism, but just to be as bold as he was — he felt like he had the right to do this to me, and the manager participated in that.”
The story went viral, and while it did spark the restaurant into action, and the manager seen in the video no longer works at that restaurant, it also sparked significant backlash against Walker, who has received threatening messages both to his phone number and also on social media. Because of those threats, he has now been forced to leave his home.