NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) — One week after Allie’s Donuts announced it would no longer offer a discount for police and members of the military, veterans protested outside of the business on Sunday holding signs and American flags.
The event was organized by a group called “Never Forget” which, according to a Facebook post, was created “to ensure the legacy of Allie’s Donuts is never forgotten under the current ownership.”
“Allie’s Donuts can keep their DISCOUNT. Thousands of Veterans, families, supporters, will “NEVER FORGET” the actions of Allies Donuts. Simply put, we will BOYCOTT this business establishment under the current ownership,” U.S. Army veteran John Cianci wrote.
“It’s not about the discount, it’s about the content of Allie’s Donuts message and the singling out of local police and military,” he continued.
On June 6, Allie’s Donuts owner Matt Drescher announced the decision to drop the discount on the shop’s Instagram page, saying, “We’re fed up. Until local police take action to solve problems with racism and injustice, Allie’s Donuts will choose to stand with the people of our great state.”
Drescher took to Instagram again two days later to apologize for eliminating the discount. He said the idea was to support the Black Lives Matter movement, but the decision instead caused an uproar.
“One of the mistakes that I have made in the past 24 hours, because I am as human, as human can be, and we all make mistakes, that message didn’t really convey my intention,” Drescher said in a video posted to Instagram. “I just wanted to take away a privilege from people so that we could all be equal and make a donut worth the same amount to every single person that wanted one.”
