A bakery employee, Allyn Gibson, said he saw a man attempting to hide two bottles of wine under his shirt, according to a police report. That man was later identified as Jonathan Aladin, 19.
Gibson told Aladin he was going to call the police, and Aladin tried to leave the store.
When Gibson tried to take a picture of Aladin on his cellphone, Aladin slapped Gibson’s hand, and the phone hit him in the face, according to the report. Gibson told police Aladin then ran to the back of the store, where he got into a scuffle with another employee at the bakery.
Aladin went outside and met up with two women across the street he was initially with.
Gibson tried to detain Aladin, according to the report, which states Aladin then punched Gibson and threatened his life. The two women also began to kick and punch Gibson, according to the report.
Police found Aladin had a counterfeit South Carolina ID card and credit card with Aladin’s name.
“It should be noted that as the reporting officer was interviewing all three subjects, several other individuals who were also on the scene at the time of the incident and who were initially interfering with officers attempting to gain control of the situation, began stating that (Gibson) was the aggressor and the black man didn’t do anything wrong,” the police report states.
The two women with him, who were accused of kicking and punching Gibson, have been identified as Endina Lawrence and Cecelia Whettstong and were arrested for assault. They will also be in court Friday.
With this, Protesters passed out fliers, claiming Aladin was “assaulted by the owner” of the bakery. They’re accusing police of racially profiling the three who were arrested, saying they were not questioned or read their rights before they were arrested and charged. They claim that the bakery has a history of discrimination, and was encouraging people to shop elsewhere.
Oberlin College students, staff, and the former dean of students Meredith Raimondo led protests and boycotts of the family-owned bakery, which has been in operation for 137 years. As a result of the pressure from the “woke” members of the college community.
Now, the owners of Gibson’s Bakery took the matter to court, claiming they had been defamed in 2016 when Oberlin professors and deans joined the student protests – in some cases handing out fliers that read, “DON’T BUY.”
“This is a RACIST establishment with a LONG ACCOUNT of RACIAL PROFILING and DISCRIMINATION,” the flier said, according to the 2017 lawsuit.
Allyn Gibson Sr. famously marched in the name of equality and civil rights with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He died in February 2022 at the age of ninety-three while waiting for Oberlin College to pay back his family business the millions of dollars they were owed. Meanwhile, his son, David, passed away from pancreatic cancer in November 2019 at the age of sixty-five.
During the defamation trial, David agreed not to reveal his cancer diagnosis because it might accidentally sway the jury. Nevertheless, he issued a statement before his death describing how he felt that Oberlin was trying to “wait the family out” and let its members die so they wouldn’t have to pay the large payment.
Attorney Lee Plakas, who represents the Gibsons, told Daily Mail that Oberlin’s protests and boycotts of the bakery have cost the business.
After nearly three years of legal battle, Oberlin College has been ordered by a jury to pay $44 million to a local bakery and convenience store after the midwestern liberal arts school was found responsible for defamation, infliction of emotional distress, and intentional interference with business relationships.
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