Protests planned for Starbucks where 2 men were arrested

PHILADELPHIA –  Protests are planned at a Philadelphia Starbucks where two black men were arrested after store employees called 911 to say they were trespassing.

Organizers have called for protests to begin at 7 a.m. Monday outside the downtown Starbucks. Over the weekend, protesters called for the firing of the employee who contacted police, who arrested the men on Thursday.

Police Commissioner Richard Ross has said officers were told the men had asked to use the store’s restroom but were denied because they hadn’t bought anything. He said they then refused to leave.

Police haven’t released the names of the men who were arrested. A spokesman for the district attorney’s office said the two were released “because of lack of evidence” that a crime had been committed.

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson has called the arrests a “reprehensible outcome” and said he wants to personally apologize to the men.