Bar Bans Swampscott Selectman, Rehires Bartender

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — The owner of a Swampscott restaurant rehired a bartender who wrote a Facebook post about overhearing Swampscott Selectman Don Hause call the Black Lives Matter movement "liberal bull----."

And, Mission on the Bay owner Wellington Augusto said in his own Facebook post Tuesday night he banned Hause from the bar.

The bartender "created a dialogue within the town and is fighting to hold public officials accountable for their words and actions at all times; not just when addressing the public," Augusto said. "With that in mind....we no longer can welcome Don Hause into our establishment."

Previously on Swampscott Patch: Bartender Fired After Facebook Post About Swampscott Selectman

Erik Heilman, 24, of Salem, was bartending at Mission on the Bay in Swampscott Thursday when he said he heard Hause make the Black Lives Matter comment and other comments that angered him. On Sunday, Heilman posted his account of Hause's comments on a Facebook group for Swampscott residents. Within two hours, he was out of a job.

Hause, who is out of town on business and not attending this week's selectmen's meeting, said Heilman's description of the discussion he had with three other people was "inflammatory and untrue."