A Silicon Valley startup founder was caught on camera unleashing a racist tirade on an Asian-American family seated opposite him at a California restaurant, according to report.
Michael Lofthouse, the CEO of San Francisco-based IT company Solid8, launched the unprovoked attack on other diners as they celebrated a birthday Saturday at Bernardus Lodge and Spa’s Lucia restaurant in Carmel Valley, news station KION reported.
While gesturing at the family, Lofthouse could be heard saying, “Trump’s going to f–k you!”
“You f–kers need to leave,” he said to them as he stood up and put on his coat.
A waitress intervened, telling the man, “You do not talk to a guest like that, you need to leave now.”
But Lofthouse continued his verbal attack, saying, “You f–king Asian piece of s–t.”
“Who are these f–kers?” he asked the waitress, to which she replied, “They are valued guests.”
“Are they? They are valued guests in America?” Lofthouse said.
Jordan Chan, whose family was attacked by Lofthouse, said she doesn’t know why the man targeted them.
“We were singing ‘Happy Birthday,’” Chan told the news station. “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.”
Lofthouse didn’t respond to request for comment, KOIN reported.
The Bernardus Lodge said the incident was “unfortunate” and praised staff for their handling of the situation.
“This is an extremely unfortunate situation, however, we are proud of our staff at Lucia in keeping with Bernardus Lodge’s core values,” said Sean Damery, the lodge’s vice president and general manager, in a statement to KOIN.
“This incident was handled swiftly and the diner was escorted off property without further escalation. 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.”
