Protests continue outside of D.C. bar after a woman is dragged down stairs by her hair

An apparent case of mistaken identity led security to physically assault a woman they believed broke the rules at Nellie’s bar, a popular LGBTQ+ club in the nation’s capital

Nellie’s Sports Bar located in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington D.C. is under fire after a video went viral showing a security guard dragging a Black woman by her hair down a flight of stairs.

Protestors are now camped outside the establishment, calling for the popular LGBTQ+ bar to be shut down for good. The demonstrations started around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, with dozens of people rallying behind Keisha Young, 22, of Maryland, the woman seen being dragged out of the bar in video that was shared on Instagram.

Below is the graphic video that was shared with WUSA9. Young told the outlet that she did nothing to warrant the mistreatment during her visit to celebrate Pride month.

“It was an altercation in there,” she said. “They were trying to get some other people out because somebody else brought a bottle in there. Somehow I got mixed up in an altercation because I look like somebody else and I got hit and dragged down the steps.”

Young appreciates the support from people who are joining her call to shut down Nellie’s. Dozens of demonstrators have also gathered outside the home of the bar’s owner, Doug Schantz.

“I didn’t expect it to turn into something like this, to be honest, but I’m feeling very warm that a lot of people are out here helping support me,” Young said.

The video was posted to Instagram by Black Lives Matter DC, which organized the protest outside the bar. Young, who attended the demonstration, told WJLA that “an apology is not going to get rid of the bruises on my body.”

The Capital Pride Alliance issued a statement Monday afternoon condemning the “reprehensible actions taken by Nellie’s staff over the weekend.”