Man Hurls Racist Abuse at Asian Family in Video: 'Trump's Gonna F*** You!'

A video of a man hurling racist abuse at an Asian family dining at a restaurant in California has gone viral.

Jordan Chan shared the video on her Instagram page on Monday, saying the man had "relentlessly harassed" her family while they were celebrating her aunt's birthday at Lucia restaurant, located inside Bernardus Lodge and Spa in Carmel Valley, on the Fourth of July.

"Trump's gonna f*** you! You f***ers need to leave... f***ing Asian piece of s**t," the man is heard saying to Chan's family in the clip.

A waitress at the restaurant is seen stepping in and ordering the man to leave. "You do not talk to our guests like that. Get out now," she is heard saying. "They are valued guests. You are not allowed here ever again."

She and other social media users identified the man in the video as Michael Lofthouse, the founder of a San Francisco-based IT company Solid8.

"We were singing happy birthday. We were just taking pictures and goofing around with each other and then all of a sudden the man, Michael Lofthouse, starts making really loud racist remarks at us," Chan told KION News.

She added that even after Lofthouse was kicked out, he tried to return. "It was very clear that alcohol was involved," Chan said.

On Instagram, Chan also shared an abusive comment that Lofthouse posted online that has since been removed.

Lofthouse has been contacted for comment.

In a caption alongside the video, Chan said: "This is the face of the man who relentlessly harassed my family and I completely UNPROVOKED, UNWARRANTED, and UNCONSCIONABLE.

"We were celebrating my tita's birthday, literally just singing happy birthday to her and taking pictures, when this white supremacist starts yelling disgusting racist remarks at us. ("Fuck you Asians" "Go back to whatever fucking Asian country you're from" "You don't belong here")."

Chan lay the blame for the prevalence of racism in the U.S. on President Donald Trump.

"It is no coincidence that this man has the audacity to showcase such blatant racism on the 4th of July. White supremacy has a notorious habit of masquerading as patriotism!" Chan wrote.

"The fact that Donald Trump is our president (i.e. THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD) gives racists a platform and amplifies voices of hate.

"The surfacing of racists is so prevalent right now, even in such an ethnically/culturally diverse and liberal state like California, because Trump HIMSELF uses his position to incite racial tension and to promote aggression towards POC, foreigners, and immigrants. We need change!"

The clip was shared widely on social media and was retweeted by singer Kelly Clarkson, who praised the waitress for her actions.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH to this woman for speaking up and throwing this trash out! Y'all keep standing up for people and for what is right! We all bleed red! Keep calling hate out!" Clarkson wrote on Twitter.

"It's unacceptable, ignorant, and disgusting! Change won't happen if we're sittin' down so keep standing!"

In a statement provided to Newsweek, Sean Damery, the regional vice president and GM of Bernardus Lodge and Spa, apologized to Chan's family for the "unfortunate" incident.

"This is an extremely unfortunate situation, however we are proud of our staff at Lucia in keeping with Bernardus Lodge's core values; this incident was handled swiftly and the diner was escorted off property without further escalation," Damery said.

"We provide guests with a safe environment for lodging and dining; and extend our sincere apologies to the guests enjoying a birthday celebration on a holiday weekend."

A spokesperson for Bernardus told Newsweek that the response from the public since the video went viral has been "overwhelming."

"We have received such overwhelming support, florals, orders, letters, a fund for the wait staff, just heartwarming," she said.

The U.S. has seen a rise in racist and xenophobic attacks targeting Asians and Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic—including in California, New York and New Jersey. The virus emerged in Wuhan, a city in China's Hubei province, in December last year.

"These incidents include being told to "Go back to China," being blamed for "bringing the virus" to the United States, being referred to with racial slurs, spat on, or physically assaulted," according to The Anti-Defamation League, which has collated some of the incidents.

The incident at Lucia restaurant also comes amid sustained protests against racism and police brutality in the U.S. sparked by the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.

This article has been updated with comments from Bernardus Lodge and Spa.