What began as a peaceful protest in Cleveland on Saturday—over the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer— turned violent as the day progressed, prompting Mayor Frank Jackson to issue an 8 p.m. curfew and to request National Guard reinforcements to protect the city from rioters. Corbo’s, a tiny family-owned bakery in the city’s historic Playhouse Square district, took matters into their own hands, brandishing their firearms when rioters came calling.
In a video captured by Rob Rash, rioters and looters can be seen approaching Corbo’s Bakery, taunting the owners and threatening them with iron rods and a large pylon with a heavy metal base. Three men stood in the doorway of the bakery, defending their property and exercising their Second Amendment rights. A minute later the rioters were gone, having moved on to the business next door, where they shattered a massive storefront window
Here’s a condensed version of the video:
Rioters later came back and shattered the bakery’s front windows. “We r here all night now because they broke r big windows,” the bakery wrote on Facebook. “Thankful my sons n husband didn’t get hurt! We r just protecting r business..we want no trouble but unfortunately they came at us w bats n weapons. God bless u guys too!” It doesn’t appear the rioters entered the bakery and there was no sign of looting at the Playhouse Square location.
Rioters destroyed and looted storefronts along a one-mile stretch of Euclid Avenue, one of Cleveland’s busiest thoroughfares.
The rioters set at least five police cars on fire, shattered windows at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center, and destroyed bus shelters and decorative planters in the area.
In the video, Rash asks the men protecting Corbo’s whether or not they have insurance that would cover damage from the rioters. “I mean, really, is it worth having someone get shot? Are you shooting someone over an insured place? But why?”
“That’s not the point,” one of the armed Corbo’s workers replied.
“Well, it is the point,” Rash counters. “But what if someone accidentally got shot?”
An African American bystander defended the bakers, saying, “They just trying to defend they’re sh–.”
“You’re out here with guns!” Rash exclaims.
