Woman kicked out of club over MAGA hat, video shows. Club says there’s more to story
An Indiana jazz club has responded to a viral video that appeared to show one of its bartenders throwing out a woman wearing a hat in support of President Donald Trump.
In the video, shared widely on social media, a bartender at Chatterbox Jazz Club in Indianapolis is seen telling a woman to “get out of my bar right now.”
The video did not show what happened to prompt the request, but the bartender told the woman she was not welcome in the establishment “because you’re a Trump supporter.”
Elise Hensley told WISH she was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat during the March 14 incident.
She asked the bartender if she was being kicked out for wearing the hat, and the worker responded by saying, “Yes. I don’t care. Get out.”
Chatterbox has been met with a wave of scorn by other Trump supporters on social media, but the jazz club said in a social media post there is more to the story.
In its March 16 post on Instagram, the club said the woman and other members in her group were asked to leave because they “intentionally misgendered and harassed a Chatterbox employee.”
“They then continued verbally assaulting our patrons and staff, threatened our establishment and returned to record a video which has now been posted on multiple social media platforms,” the club said.
“The Chatterbox is a home to a diverse group of staff and patrons,” the post continued. “We do not tolerate dehumanizing or disrespectful language or symbolism in our establishment. We have a right, by law, to refuse service to anyone who disrupts our business.”
Hensley, however, said she did not misgender or harass anyone at the LGBTQ-friendly establishment, WISH reported.
“I wore that hat because I do love our President of the United States,” she told the station. “He is our president. I do appreciate that and I don’t think I find anything wrong with me wanting to wear a Trump hat because he is our president.”
Others, including The Mousetrap music venue in Indianapolis, showed support for Chatterbox. The Mousetrap called Hensley’s video “an intentional setup” with “pure evil” intentions.
Mia Keohane, who often performs at Chatterbox, said she will not pull out of future gigs, despite guidance from others.
“I will not be turning my back on decades of support, creativity, encouragement, friendship, family, culture and community just because some opportunistic influencer folks looking for their next content fodder came in to torment and dehumanize a staff member, were asked to leave, came back with cameras and had to be asked to leave a SECOND time,” Keohane said on Facebook.
This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Woman kicked out of club over MAGA hat, video shows. Club says there’s more to story."