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A restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas, found itself in the middle of controversy after the state's Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she was asked to leave the establishment.
"Last week I was having lunch with two other moms at a restaurant when the owner approached a member of the State Police Executive Protection Detail and said my presence made their employees feel threatened and told us to leave," Sanders said in a statement to USA TODAY.
The restaurant in question, The Croissanterie, responded to Sanders' comments, saying in a statement to local news station THV 11 that employees and other diners "raised questions" about the continued presence of the governor and her team in the restaurant.
"Allowing her to stay risked being perceived as a lack of support for the community that makes up the majority of our team, as well as their families and friends," the statement said. "Ultimately, we made the decision to support our employees and guests who expressed they were uncomfortable."
In its statement, the restaurant added that it did not "recall any statements indicating that anyone felt threatened," and that employees quietly asked the governor's security detail to leave on two occasions, even offering the team drinks for the road.
"We regret being placed in this position and having to make a difficult decision," the restaurant said. "However, we stand by our choice to support our employees and guests."
USA TODAY contacted The Croissanterie on Friday, March 20, but has not received a response.
Sanders' 2019 incident at Virginia-based restaurant
The incident at The Croissanterie was not the only occasion where Sanders had been asked to leave a restaurant.
Back in 2019, when Sanders was the White House Press Secretary during President Donald Trump's first term, the owner of a small eatery in Virginia kicked Sanders out of her establishment, USA TODAY previously reported.
Stephanie Wilkinson, the co-owner of the Red Hen, said in a Washington Post op-ed that she was harassed after asking Sanders to leave her establishment.
"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. We couldn't do it," Wilkinson said.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.