Diners fled from the buzzy 14th Street dining room of Le Diplomate Sunday night after a man jumped on the fully seated bar and started smashing bottles and glasses. Police arrested the man on site, and he is being charged with destruction of more than $1,000 worth of property. No injuries have been reported.
Man at Le Diplomate standing on bars throwing bottles at everyone in the restaurant,
We all thought it was a gunman when everyone started running 😔 pic.twitter.com/Qq1k80dTqB
— Justice Gilpin-Green (@JusticeGGreen) September 20, 2021
Meet the Press producer Justice Gilpin-Green tweeted “we all thought it was a gunman when everyone started running” after one person inside started yelling that there was a shooter. Meanwhile, Washingtonian reporter Daniella Byck—who was sitting outside the restaurant when the incident took place around 8 PM—says everyone was running out silently. The dining room completely emptied out, along with almost all of the outdoor tables. A server later told her that it took eight staff to restrain the man until police arrived. He told her it was the “craziest thing he has ever seen” in his years at the restaurant, which is popular among Washington’s political elite, including President Joe Biden.
The restaurant closed early.