Protesters at Starbucks chant company is ‘anti-black’

PHILADELPHIA — About two dozen chanting protesters have entered a Philadelphia Starbucks where two black men were arrested after store employees called 911 to say they were trespassing.

The protesters moved to the front counter shortly after 7 a.m. Monday and chanted “Starbucks coffee is anti-black.”

Over the weekend, demonstrators called for the firing of the employee who contacted police, who arrested the men on Thursday.

Officials have said police officers were told the men had asked to use the store’s restroom but were denied because they hadn’t bought anything and they refused to leave.

Police haven’t released the names of the men who were arrested and later released after the district attorney’s office said there was lack of evidence that a crime had been committed.

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson has called the arrests a “reprehensible outcome.”