Hecklers spoil another Mitch McConnell meal by blaring 'Fight The Power'

Thomas Novelly | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Group protests Mitch McConnell outside restaurant with Public Enemy music, chants Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell abruptly left Sarino on Sunday night after protesters gathered from a nearby bar while he ate his meal.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may need to start ordering takeout in Louisville.

The Kentucky Republican abruptly left Sarino, an Italian restaurant in Schnitzelburg, on Sunday night after protesters blared Public Enemy's "Fight The Power" and yelled "no justice no peace."

It was the second time this weekend that Louisville protesters have heckled McConnell to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"All the chefs came out and they were yelling at the protesters," said Nick Hulstine, a bartender at Four Pegs. "You could see McConnell's unmarked vehicles and bodyguards in the parking lot."

Hulstine said Four Pegs was hosting a trivia night when protesters started gathering outside on Goss Avenue. Shortly after, the trivia host announced McConnell was at Sarino and rolled out his speaker to disrupt the senator while he ate.

Column: Eat at home, McConnell, until you're ready to listen to all the people

Jesus Ibañez, an organizer for Occupy ICE in Louisville, confirmed to the Courier Journal that protesters from his organization confronted McConnell.

"They did it to hold McConnell accountable," Ibañez said. "One person had a megaphone ... and then management kicked them out."

Ben Norton, a bar patron who caught the demonstration on video, said several protesters went inside the restaurant and were quickly escorted out. McConnell left out the back door and drove off with his security detail in his Escalade convoy.

A wheelchair-bound former cop gets into argument with Occupy ICE protesters A former police officer now bound in a wheelchair says protesters are 'antagonizing people.'

"It was nice to see people giving their elected leaders (crap) when they aren't doing their best," Norton told the Courier Journal.

Louisville Metro Police arrived around 8:30 p.m. to defuse the situation, said LMPD spokesman Dwight Mitchell. No one was arrested or cited for the incident and the officers left before 9 p.m.

A call to Sarino was unanswered and owners Carmelo and Michael Gabriele did not return a Facebook message requesting comment.

A McConnell spokeswoman said the senator had no comment.

Related: Protesters confront Mitch McConnell over immigration on Bardstown Road

This was the second protest during McConnell's weekend in Louisville.

On Saturday, McConnell was eating lunch on Bardstown Road when a group of protesters confronted the senator over ICE and the Trump administration's policy of separating migrant children from their families at the border. Faced with widespread criticism, Trump later issued an executive order to stop the practice.

Jonathan Shell, Kentucky's outgoing House majority floor leader who was dining with McConnell, called the protesters "a small group of extremists."

In a statement last month, McConnell said he supported a bill to keep families together at the border.

“The safety of Americans and the security of our nation require that people who illegally cross our border are not simply released into the United States. But when families with children breach our border, we should keep those families together whenever possible while our legal system fairly and promptly evaluates their status," McConnell said.

More: Why that Virginia restaurant should have served Sarah Sanders

A few weeks ago, McConnell and his wife, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, were confronted by protesters over immigration as they left a dinner at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Chao confronted the protesters saying, "you leave my husband alone. Leave my husband alone."

Thomas Novelly: tnovelly@courierjournal.com, 502-582-4465. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/tomn.