Customer yells slurs, throws spoons and threatens to kill Chipotle workers, feds say
A customer entered a Chipotle asking how much food he could buy with $8 and when he didn’t like the answer given he went into a fit of rage by hurling slurs at the workers and throwing food, spoons and more, prosecutors in Washington, D.C. said.
When he was finished attacking the worker and Chipotle manager — and after shouting several “xenophobic, ethnic, and transphobic slurs —” he threatened to come back and kill them, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
D.C. resident Johnnie Williamson, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of bias-related assault in connection to the Dec. 27, 2020 Chipotle incident on Feb. 9, the attorney’s office said in the Feb. 14 news release.
He also pleaded guilty to one count of attempted possession of a prohibited weapon that stemmed from when he “pulled a knife during an argument with an individual while inside of Union Station” on June 14, 2020, according to prosecutors.
“I’m surprised the United States Attorney’s Office feels the need to make a statement concerning a man with mental health issues pleading guilty to two misdemeanors,” Williamson’s lawyer, Brandon Burrell, told McClatchy News in a statement.
“It’s also surprising that the government would embellish and add facts not contained in the factual proffer the parties agreed to. It’s already bad enough that the criminal justice system is our primary tool to address a mental health crisis in this country.“
The Chipotle incident began when a worker had issues communicating with Williamson because of a language barrier, the news release said. Then, they got their manager for help.
The employee is Spanish speaking and transgender, according to court documents provided to McClatchy News. When they were unable to help Williamson, he is accused of saying “You don’t belong in this country,” and “You’re not a woman, you’re a man.”
“As Williamson yelled these slurs, he climbed onto the service counter and spit on the employee,” the news release said. “He then reached over the counter and began throwing food and serving spoons at the employee, striking her in the hand.”
Williamson then shoved the cash register off the counter and launched a fire extinguisher at the manager, hitting her leg, according to prosecutors.
After yelling more slurs, “he shouted that he was going to return and kill” them before he left therestaurant, the attorney’s office said.
Williamson was arrested months later on March 5, 2021 and remained in custody until his guilty plea, the release said.
He was sentenced to 450 days in prison but that was “suspended” since he already served time in custody and he must “complete one year of supervised probation,” according to prosecutors.
“As a condition of probation, Williamson must participate in mental health treatment and supervision.”
Chipotle’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer told McClatchy News that “at Chipotle, the health and safety of our employees is our greatest priority.”
“We are grateful for their hard work every day, and appreciate when justice is served for individuals that do not treat our teams with the respect they deserve.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Customer yells slurs, throws spoons and threatens to kill Chipotle workers, feds say."
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