Maryland Man Arrested and Charged For Threatening Vince’s Crabhouse Protestors With a Bat

On June 20th, Keith Francis Duvall attempted to physically assault protestors in front of Vince’s Crabhouse in Middle River, Maryland, with a bat.

Police officials who were surveilling the peaceful protest saw Duvall getting into a heated argument with demonstrators in front of the crab house. Duvall returned to his car after the verbal confrontation to retrieve a bat and began walking towards the protestors. The officer intervened before Duvall could reach the crab house front,  preventing any physical altercations between Duvall and the protestors.

When the police officer approached Duvall, he detected an odor of alcohol lingering on his breath and proceeded to administer sobriety tests. After the failure of the sobriety tests, Keith Duvall was arrested and transported to the hospital for treatment for an undisclosed medical condition.

The Baltimore County Police has charged Duvall with two misdemeanors: second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, and a DUI. Duvall was released on his own recognizance after a bail hearing on June 24th, 2020.

Black Lives Matter demonstrators have been protesting outside of Vince’s Crabhouse since the beginning of June after the owner, Vince Meyers,  made racist and insensitive comments towards the BLM movement. The local business owner took to social media and posted the following statement:

” There’s one place protestors/rioters won’t light on fire or break into or even block the road to…the social services building.”

Shortly after Meyer’s post on Twitter,  protesters of his community expressed their disapproval of his remarks. Many protestors surrounded Vince’s Crabhouse shouting “NO MORE BLACK DOLLARS,” sending the message that he has lost the trust and loyalty of his black supporters. Meyers later issued an apology on Facebook, admitting that he is aware that 75% of his customers are African American.  The video was recorded in precisely 8 minutes and 46 seconds — the same duration of time Minneapolis Police officer forced his knee into George Floyd’s neck, resulting in Floyd’s death.

In an attempt to regain the loyalty of the black community, Vince Meyers announced that he would close Vince’s Crabhouse for nine days to show respect for George Floyd. All five Vince’s Crabhouse locations have been temporarily closed after Meyers’ tweet went viral on the internet.

[Images obtained from The Baltimore Sun and Baltimore County Govt, Official Report]