Black Woman Removed From Dunkin’ Donuts After Dispute Over Free WiFi

A Virginia Dunkin' Donuts franchise owner called police on a black woman after an altercation began over the usage of free WiFi at the eatery. Tirza Wilbon White, 46, filmed the conversation with the owner and accused her of racially profiling her.

The incident took place last week when White and another “brown-skinned” customer were told they could not use the advertised free WiFi unless they purchased something. White — who claimed she visits the same location once or twice a week — asked Christina Cabral why she was being pushed to buy an item despite the advertisement.

"I don't know what company you own but as a franchisee I do get to make my own rules and that's posting signs," Cabral said. "Because I need to ensure safety to my customers and I'm not saying you're a problem but I've had problems in the past with customers... They hang out here for eight hours, they get into fights…"

When Cabral told the regular visitor "we can't have customers hanging out," White noted the brand was regularly listed as a top place to use Wi-Fi for free and asked for clarification. However, the conversation intensified as White probed deeper into being removed from the eatery.

White accused the owner of singling her out because of her race and minutes later the owner called police to the scene. But the owner said her decision was not motivated by race and emphasized she had family members who were "mixed."

"Oh please, listen don't say this is racial profiling, it's my family, it's mixed," Cabral said. She followed it up by pointing White toward the door. "You can leave my location. I find that offensive."

White reportedly said she had already packed up to leave but when the owner said she was calling law enforcement, she decided to stay and began recording.

"I didn't want to leave for a few reasons: because she would think her strategy of forcing brown-skinned people to buy coffee worked if we either bought it or chose not to and left. Either way future brown-skinned people would be mistreated and if they pushed back against her, as I did, they too would have police called, as the officer confirmed in one of the videos," she said, according to Daily Mail. "Second, I didn't leave because I didn't want to give the impression I had done anything wrong. I also didn't want someone writing down my license plate and having police officers come to my door where I would then be forced to explain, completely out of context and without witnesses. So I stayed at DD until they arrived."

A spokesperson for Dunkin' Donuts Corporate later told News4 the company apologized to White for the incident.

"We and our franchisees want every customer who walks into a Dunkin' restaurant to be treated with dignity and respect. This did not happen in a situation at a restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia. We have apologized to the customer, but we know that is not enough," read the statement.