Man Claims Restaurant Asked Him To Leave For Wearing Cross

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN (CBS Local) - An Indiana man and his pastor are claiming that a local restaurant profiled them and threatened to throw the man out for wearing a cross in public.

Jerry Bond was with a group of friends and Minister David Latimore when they entered Kilroy's Bar N' Grill on May 19. According to reports, a bouncer at the eatery confronted the group and told Bond he needed to remove or hide his cross necklace under his shirt.

"They said, 'Well, you got to remove your necklace'… because they said it's a large necklace. We're going to ask you to either tuck your necklace, remove it or you have to leave," Bond said, via International Business Times.

"I'm not going to tuck my cross in because of my beliefs. I believe in wearing this cross and what it represents," the customer added.

Bond eventually left the restaurant after allegedly being harassed by the Kilroy's staff more than once.

Although Kilroy's strict dress code reportedly prohibits displaying large chain necklaces, Bond's pastor claimed in a Facebook post that several people were violating the policy on May 19, and only Bond's cross was singled out.

"I asked him, 'What is a large necklace? What does that mean? What size is large?' He couldn't tell me," Minister Latimore said in the video, which has been viewed over 39,000 times.

Latimore's group is planning to protest the restaurant's actions and claims Bond was racially profiled by the staff.

In:
• Indianapolis