Men Arrested Within Minutes After Arriving At Philadelphia Starbucks

[ Newsday ]

On April 12, 2018, two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks. The scene became public after their arrest was captured on a cellphone video which was viewed more than 11 million times. The event then prompted a #BoycottStarbucks campaign as well as protests at the store in Philadelphia’s Center City.

Protesters demonstrate outside a Center City Starbucks, April 15, 2018 in Philadelphia. (ABC News)

One week later they appeared on “Good Morning America” to describe how arriving 10 minutes early to a business meeting landed them in handcuffs. It was the first time Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson publicly told their story.

Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson appear on "Good Morning America," April 19, 2018, to discuss their arrest at a Philadelphia Starbucks. (ABC News)

Robinson said, “I want to make sure this situation doesn’t happen again. What I want is for a young man or young men to not be traumatized by this; and instead, motivated and inspired”, according to The Washington Post.

The men arrived at the Center City Starbucks at 4:35 p.m. for a 4:45 business meeting. Upon arriving, Nelson asked the manager if he could use the restroom. The manager responded that the restrooms were to be used by paying customers only.

“And I just left it at that,” Nelson stated, according to The Washington Post.

Robinson said that after Nelson got back to the table, the manager came over to ask if she could get them any drinks or water. Robinson said they had water bottles with them and were waiting for a business meeting involving real estate that they had been working on for months. At 4:37- two minutes after the men arrived- the manager called the police to report that “two gentlemen in my cafe that are refusing to make a purchase or leave.” Officers arrived at 4:41, according to tapes released by the Philadelphia police.

Robinson stated to CNN that when he saw police arrive, he thought, “They can’t be here for us. It didn't really hit me what was going on, that it was real, till I was being double-locked with my hands behind my back.”

Rashon Nelson, left, and Donte Robinson are arrested. (ABC News)

Nelson said the police told him and Robinson they had to leave without any discussion about what was happening between them and the manager. Then they were arrested. Robinson said they weren’t read any rights or told why they were being arrested.

The charges — trespassing and creating a disturbance — were dropped that night after they were held in custody for eight hours.

The following Monday, the two men met with Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson, who apologized.

A lawyer for the two men told "Good Morning America" that Starbucks has agreed to their proposal to enter mediation with a retired federal judge.

The store employee who called 911 is no longer with the company and Starbucks has not commented under what circumstances she left.

Starbucks also plans to close its 8,000 company-owned stores in the United States for one afternoon in May to teach employees about racial bias. The training will be provided to about 175,000 workers.

Starbucks’ executive chairman, Howard Schultz, and chief executive, Kevin Johnson, have met with the men to personally apologize.

Nelson said he hoped the episode would inspire black people “to really stand up and show your greatness, and that you are not judged by the color of your skin as our ancestors were. This is something that has been going on for years and everyone’s blind to it. But they know what’s going on, if you get what I mean.”