Red Lobster Mother’s Day brawl leads to charges against Pennsylvania woman, police say

A 52-year-old woman is facing multiple charges following a Mother’s Day fight caught on video at a Pennsylvania Red Lobster, according to media reports.

The viral video shows Cathy Lynn Hill in a verbal and then physical argument with employees of the chain restaurant in Manchester Township, which is south of Harrisburg.

Hill is facing trespassing, disorderly conduct and harassment charges, but she claims she was “manhandled” by the Red Lobster employees, the York Daily Record reported.

Police said Hill placed a to-go order on Mother’s Day, but because the order would take “several hours to complete,” she went to the store to get her money back, according to the York Dispatch. She entered the store without a mask and confronted workers, the York Dispatch reported.

No customers were allowed in the restaurant, which was set up to allow them to pick up food outside, WHP reported.

The woman shoved her way inside seeking the manager, according to PennLive.com. She refused to leave and shouted profanities at workers, the York Dispatch reported.

“Hill then pushed against (restaurant employee Tiffany Carter’s) chest as she tried to push further into the building,” police said, according to the York Dispatch. “Carter then had to physically push Hill out of the building because she continued to refuse to leave.”

The viral video shows Hill and Carter being separated at the doorway of the restaurant, then Hill hitting the worker in the head. Their tussle went outside the restaurant, where Carter was shown grabbing Hill’s hair.

When they were finally removed from one another, Hill remarked that she was assaulted and said the whole crowd saw it. Several observers were heard taking the side of the employees.

Carter told police she wants to press charges, but Hill said Carter tried to “choke her out” and claimed she only “swatted” at the worker’s head in self-defense, WPMT reported.

Police said it received an “overwhelming yes” by observers that Hill was the aggressor in the incident, according to WPMT. There were around 100 people outside the restaurant waiting to pick up food, the York Dispatch reported.

A DoorDash driver who witnessed the incident told the York Daily Record the “chaotic” scene does not justify Hill’s actions.

“I was there and had a front row view of everything that happened ... and I whole-heartedly stand behind the staff and Tiffany Carter and how they handled this situation,” Michael Baylor told the publication.

In a statement to PennLive.com, Red Lobster said it does “not tolerate violence for any reason in our restaurants.”

“We expect our team members (to) treat our guests with respect, and we expect our guests to treat our team members with respect in return,” Red Lobster stated. “We are grateful our manager and the guest involved were not seriously injured in the incident.”