GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Protests continued in Gastonia for the third day after a woman claimed she was discriminated against at a popular ice cream shop because of her Black Lives Matter pin.
Lydia Robinson said she went to Tony's Ice Cream Monday night with family members when she claimed a clerk was rude to her.
Robinson said she asked what was wrong, and she said the clerk looked down at her Black Lives Matter button.
"She rolled her eyes. She walked away. She rung me up. She brought me my receipt, and I said, 'Are you serious?' I said, 'Is this really all because of my Black Lives Matter button?'" Robinson said. "The manager was sitting, lounging, in the corner, and he said, 'Do not start that. Don't bring that here.'"
A video on Facebook showed Robinson visibly upset and speaking loudly in the parking lot, saying she was discriminated against.
In the video, which has since gone viral, police showed up and told her to leave the property.
An officer arrested her when she was on the sidewalk in front of the shop.
Robinson addressed Facebook posts claiming she's a professional protester who travels to different cities.
She said she grew up in Gastonia and does participate in protests, but she doesn't get paid.
"I protest, okay? I'm fighting injustice in these streets every day," Robinson said. "I did not come here to just start this. It was actually brought to me. I'm just trying to finish it. I'm just trying to let people know it's not okay to be biased."
She said she will be challenging her arrest in the courts.
During protests Tuesday night, Jayla Gordon said one of the counter-protesters supporting Tony's punched her in the face.
"Closed fist, punched me here," Gordon said pointing to her right cheek. "I had a little bit of issues with my teeth."
She claimed she tried to press charges, but she ultimately got arrested for simple assault.
"I don't know how to feel about that," Gordon said. "That's real messed up."
Though Tony's is closed for the rest of the week, customers have been driving through to show support.
Bernard Clemmer has been coming to Tony's since he was a boy and supports the shop.
"Never seen, felt any kind of racism whatsoever. My grandmother brought me here," Clemmer said.
Clemmer said he comes to the shop regularly for breakfast.
"To come in and can't do what I do on a normal basis because of some stupidity, it really gets under my skin," he said. "It's uncalled for."
His wife, Rachel Clemmer, decided to leave sticky notes with supportive messages.
"As I was writing my message, a lot of people came up and asked if they could leave one too," she said. "Tony's shouldn't go anywhere. We support them 100 percent."
Thursday afternoon court appearance for arrested protesters, Gaston County deputies arrested two people as they were moving protesters away from the courthouse's Confederate monument.
The family who owns Tony's declined to comment, but they said they'll be open to talking in the future.