CLEVELAND – The FBI has arrested two Pennsylvania men after police said they brought a handgun, ammunition and fire-starting material to Cleveland during a recent protest over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
U.S. Attorney for Northern Ohio Justin Herdman announced the arrests earlier in the day at a news conference Friday.
Herdman says the two men from the Erie, Pa., area intended to exploit a peaceful protest last Saturday “for their own purposes.”
They were arrested by FBI agents.
Cleveland’s police chief used the news conference to dispute the notion that out-of-state residents were not involved in Saturday’s mayhem.
A 10th of protests over Floyd’s death were planned for Columbus Saturday. Large demonstrations Friday night were peaceful.
The city was under a nighttime curfew for the seventh night.
Meanwhile, four restaurant workers in Columbus have sparked a conversation about free expression in the workplace after they refused to help fill a food order for the Ohio Highway Patrol as it policed protests.
The employees at a Columbus location of Condado Tacos say they were threatened with firing this week for walking out over the order.
The Columbus protests have brought complaints about the use of tear gas and batons.
Now, two of the chain’s locations have shut down over the ensuing publicity.
Employee Jake Widdowson opposed cooperating on the order in light of the patrol’s involvement and told the manager so.