A movie theater employee reportedly called police on the Rev. Dr. William Barber II and forced him out after he tried to use a special chair due to his medical condition

A civil rights activist says he was kicked out of a North Carolina theater while trying to watch “The Color Purple” with his mother for trying to use his own chair in the handicapped section.

In the disabled zone, Bishop William Barber II they brought a special chair, but theater staff reportedly expressed concerns about the chair’s safety due to where it was placed.

According to CNN, former president of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, stated that for health reasons he was unable to sit in a regular chair. The hairdresser suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, genus arthritis which causes inflammation of the ligaments and joints of the spine.

He uses a chair to ease the pain. “I used this chair everywhere” – Barber he told CNN. “Broadway, the White House, I’ve never had a problem,” he added.

According to Barber, when he refused to leave, he was threatened with trespassing charges and was escorted out by local police.

“If I can’t sit in a chair in a theater in Greenville, North Carolina, thousands of other people will be excluded from public spaces in this country,” Barber added. “Now it’s about what systemic changes, policy changes, training changes can ensure that this doesn’t happen to anyone.”

According to CNN, the Greenville Police Department confirmed that officers went to the local AMC Theater after receiving a call about a trespass.

According to the Associated Press, Barber left the theater voluntarily and no charges were filed against him.

AMC officials apologized to Barber and his family in a statement, reported by CNN: “AMC President and CEO Adam Aron has already called him and plans to meet with him in person in Greenville, North Carolina next week to discuss both this situation , as well as the good deeds that Bishop Barber has been involved in all these years,” we read in the statement. “We are also reviewing our policies with our theater teams to ensure situations like this do not recur.”

AMC says it encourages guests who need special seating to speak with a manager upfront to find out how the theater will work best for them. The company said it was reviewing the policy “to ensure situations like this do not recur.”

Barber’s meeting with AMC representatives is scheduled for January 2.