Missouri bar denies military members. ‘Don’t even look old enough to know about 9/11’
A Missouri bar is under fire for a viral video that shows a man denying service to military members he believed used a fake ID.
The group of service members went to LOTO Lounge near Lake of the Ozarks when the man behind the bar crumpled one of their military identification cards and tossed it in the trash, according to a Facebook post by Noel Cook on May 7.
When the group insists the ID is real, the man replied he’ll “call my boys that have been to (expletive) Afghanistan.”
“We’ve been to Iraq and Afghanistan,” a person responded.
“You don’t even look old enough to know about (expletive) 9/11,” he said.
The man behind the bar was local musician Josh Weitkamp, who isn’t an employee but personally connected to the business, the Lake Expo reported.
“We’re obviously huge supporters of the military. What happened was a huge misunderstanding,” an unidentified owner told the newspaper. “What happened is not a reflection of how we feel about the military.”
The video posted by Cook, who lists himself as a member of the Air Force, had nearly 200,000 views by Tuesday.
Warning: It includes graphic language.
Weitkamp refused to give the ID to anyone except a police officer, insisting the covering of a real card wouldn’t peel.
At one point, Weitkamp told a member of the group “You can do a lot more push-ups than me. What have you done for this country since World War II?”
“I’ve never been more heated about a non-racial interaction with someone and the straight disrespect he had for fellow service members ESPECIALLY when some of us (if not all) joined the military because of 9/11 and how it shaped our upbringing,” Cook posted on Facebook.
A few minutes later, an officer arrived and can be heard off camera.
“Have you been in the military, sir?” Weitkamp asked the officer.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Can you tell me if you can peel off the front of a military ID?” Weitkamp asked.
“Yeah, actually, I remember mine being laminated,” the officer replied.
Osage Beach police told the Lake Sun Leader the officer confirmed the ID was real and the group left the bar.
No one was arrested, the newspaper reported.
This story was originally published May 11, 2021 at 2:13 PM.