Virginia restaurant owner details months of hate mail after refusing to serve Sarah Sanders

The owner of a Virginia restaurant that refused to serve White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in June says she received hate mail, threatening phone calls and was harassed in the months following the incident.

Stephanie Wilkinson, co-owner of the Red Hen in Lexington, Va., gained national attention after her decision to ask Sanders to leave without serving her a meal went viral and sparked outrage.

{mosads}In an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Tuesday, Wilkinson documented the threats she and the restaurant staff were subjected to in the aftermath.

“Within 24 hours, the restaurant’s phone line was hacked, my staff and I were doxxed, and threats to our lives and families and property were pouring in through every available channel,” Wilkinson writes.

Wilkinson cited a few examples of the type of hate mail she received, which she said overflowed plastic totes the postal courier had to use to haul the massive amounts.

Wilkinson explains her reasoning for denying Sanders a meal, writing she felt she “couldn’t” serve her, citing the Trump administration’s practices, notably the child separation policy at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Faced with the prospect of serving a fine meal to a person whose actions in the service of our country we felt violated basic standards of humanity, we balked,” she writes.

Wilkinson notes that some of the mail she received was supportive and appreciative of her actions.

“For every wish that our business die a painful death, there was a dollar bill or a generous check or an order for a gift certificate,” Wilkinson writes.

The restaurant was forced to close for 10 days due to protesters outside the restaurant, but when it reopened, she says business was booming.

She noted that sales and revenue have gone up since the incident, with donations to local charities also increasing.