Vince's Crabhouse Owners Accuse County Leaders Of Telling Officers To 'Stand Down' As They Face Protests
MIDDLE RIVER, Md. (WJZ) -- A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a local crabhouse that's been at the center of a racial controversy.
An attorney said Baltimore County failed to protect Vince's Crabhouse from unlawful protestors.
"We have had threatening phone calls all day long to the crabhouse," Brenda Meyer of Vince's Crabhouse said.
Vince's Crabhouse has been at the center of a social media storm after a post one of its owners put online.
"When I made the statement that started this whole mess, it was definitely not a racial statement. It was based on just what I was seeing," Vince Meyer of Vince's Crabhouse said.
In the midst of protests over George Floyd's death, Vince Meyer posted to Facebook:
"There is one place I bet protesters/rioters won't light on fire or break into or even block the road to…the social services building."
He later apologized. His mother, Brenda Meyer, responded at Wednesday's press conference.
"That was not a racist statement. Some may have taken it that way because we all perceive things differently, but that was about protesters and looters," she said.
Protesters have been outside their Middle River location for weeks.
"We cost you money. Absolutely we cost you money. We cost you the same amount of money that's coming out of Black pockets," one protester said.
A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the Crabhouse. Their attorney accused county leaders of ordering officers to stand down instead of enforcing the law.
Brenda Meyer said people have followed her home and the business has been affected.
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"It is time for us to be able to walk outside our own business without being yelled and screamed at. It is time for our customers to feel safe, to come here and support us like they have for over 15 years," Brenda Meyer said.
The county will not comment on this case because it's pending.
Vince Meyer said he has regrets about the post.
"I definitely regret saying it," he said. "Just because it is so offensive. People took it that way, they took it the wrong way."
The protesters said they're having their own press conference Friday. They said they want for the restaurant to shut down.
