DC restaurant apologizes after hosting dinner where guests performed Nazi salute
On Friday, the National Policy Institute, an anti-Semitic white nationalist group, hosted a dinner at Maggiano's following a conference where the group's president, Richard Spencer, quoted Nazi propaganda.
At the dinner, former reality TV star Tila Tequila posted a photograph of herself and two attendees performing a Nazi salute.
NPI has been classified as a hate group by the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center, and the conference was condemned by the Holocaust Museum.
On Monday, Maggiano's apologized for the incident on Facebook. According to the restaurant, it was unaware of that NPI was dining at the restaurant because the group made its reservation under a different name.
"This expression of support of Hitler is extremely offensive to us, as our restaurant is home to Teammates and Guests of every race, religion and cultural background," Maggiano's Facebook post says. "We want to sincerely apologize to the community of Friendship Heights for inadvertently hosting this meeting, which resulted in hateful sentiment."
In an effort to make amends, Maggiano's is donating Friday's restaurant sales profits, which add up to $10,000, to the DC office of the Anti-Defamation League, which aims to stop anti-Semitism.
Here's Maggiano's full statement: