Iowa restaurant faces arson threats after charging Donald Trump supporters a higher cover

An Iowa City restaurant has been plagued by one-star reviews and arson threats after charging Donald Trump supporters and Michigan football fans a higher cover fee, The Des Moines Register reports. Stella restaurant typically charges a $5 fee to enter on college football game days but it used a sliding scale last Saturday night so that fans of both Trump and Michigan had to pay $20, fans of Trump and Iowa $10, and fans of Clinton and either team just $5.

Stella manager Kevin Perez said the scale was intended as a joke and that many customers changed their answers in order to pay the $5 rate. "It wasn't about the money, it was about the joke," Perez told The Des Moines Register. "I have no problem if you voted for Trump. I have no problem if you voted for Gary Johnson. It was a funny way to engage."

But not everyone was laughing. Eric Stelter, who described himself as "a Trump voter," called Stella "by far one of my favorite restaurants in Iowa City" but said in a one-star review "it's very confusing that Stella would make such a stand against President-elect Trump for their beliefs that he is discriminatory ... yet have their own staff do the same thing that supposedly they're against."

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In addition to a flood of negative reviews, Stella has also received threats, including calls to burn down the facility.

"There was no fighting, no violence, no anything," Perez explained, adding that the situation was "not fair" to employees who are now concerned about their safety. "Five people got mad over the nine hours we did it, and they would just leave."

On the plus side, Iowa upset Michigan on the field, 14-13.