How other woke Oberlin bullies thrived after driving bakery to brink with racism lies

Two senior academics who conspired with Oberlin College in its efforts to destroy a family-run bakery over false racism claims have both gone on to success, DailyMail.com can reveal. 

Then-Latinx Student Life Coordinator Julio Reyes intimidated witnesses during a bakery protest in November 2016 and tried to prevent them from taking photos to document the angry mob of students, courtroom testimony revealed.

Reyes, a Brown University alum, now serves as the ivy league school's Program Director for the Undocumented, First-Generation College, and Low-Income Student Center, earning at least $107,000 annually, per Glassdoor salary reports.

And Ben Jones, who wrote numerous foul-mouthed emails backing the angry mob and accusing the Gibson family of being 'idiots' who were ‘totally blind to their own assumptions,' was promoted by Oberlin last year.

He has gone from being head of the college communications office to the school's first-ever Assistant Vice President of Admissions Communications. 

DailyMail.com has contacted both men for a comment on their behavior.    

Julio Reyes (left) and Ben Jones (right) were are currently working in cozy higher-ed jobs despite their efforts to help defame Gibson's Bakery in Oberlin, Ohio

Witnesses testified that Reyes had a stack of defamatory flyers encouraging students to boycott Gibson's and was distributing them at the protest. 

Oberlin Police Department Sergeant Victor Ortiz, who testified during the trial, claimed that after his interaction with McDaniel, Reyes reported to his superior, former dean of students Meredith Raimondo. Raimondo - who was herself allowed to leave, and now works at Oglethorpe College in Atlanta, was reportedly addressing students with a bullhorn, DailyMail.com reported on Tuesday. 

Ortiz described the chaotic scene, saying: 'There were cars just driving down College Street unloading cases of water and snacks onto, like, little carts for the college students to drink and snack on while they were out there.

'They seemed to be encouraged to do so. There were flyers being passed around. There was just - there was a lot of stuff going on. I didn't. see anybody try to calm that situation down at all.'

The sergeant, confirming McDaniel's testimony, also noted that he warned the Oberlin College dean, Adrian Bautista, he would call the county riot team in to break up the crowd if the protest continued to escalate.

'I called him and I told him, I says, "Hey, if we can't get this under control, I'm going to end up calling the county riot team in,"' Ortiz said.

The riot team was never called in to assist.

Students and faculty, led by former dean of students Meredith Raimondo, launched a smear campaign against Gibson's Bakery in Oberlin, Ohio, after bakery workers called the cops on three black shoplifters - who were later convicted - for stealing wine and attacking a staff member in November 2016. 

The college and Raimondo were found guilty of libel in November 2019, but have refused to pay the $33m defamation award. Earlier this month, Ohio's appeals court ruled that they must do so, with Oberlin bosses saying they're continuing to review their options.

Despite the scandal, Raimondo now occupies a cozy position as vice president of student affairs at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. 

But she wasn't the only staff member who helped falsely brand the 137 year-old bakery as a racist establishment and promote a student-led boycott and protests.  

Former Dean of Students and Vice President Meredith Raimondo stoked protests against Gibson's Bakery following the shoplifting incident, even though the claims were found to be totally false. She has since been blamed for much of the behavior that has seen Oberlin ordered to pay $35 million for defamation, with Raimondo since moving to a college in Atlanta 

Former Oberlin College security director Rick McDaniel testified during the college's defamation trial that Reyes, who reported to Raimondo at the time, assembled with protesters to help slam Gibson's Bakery as a racist establishment.

McDaniel went to downtown Oberlin, a few-block area neighboring the college, in November 2016 after learning that a group of 'very angry and disturbed and irate' students were protesting outside the bakery, he testified in May 2019.

The former Oberlin police chief started taking pictures of the demonstration of his phone when a man, whom he identified as Julio Reyes, allegedly started blocking him repeatedly.

He questioned Reyes, asking why he was preventing him from photographing the scene, to which the Latinx coordinator reportedly answered: 'I'm with the college.'

'I told him "I'm just going to wait until your silly a** leaves and [I'll] start taking pictures again without you blocking me,"' McDaniel testified. 'He answered that he was going to come back when I wasn't looking and key my car.'

McDaniel added: 'He was attempting to intimidate me and I don't intimidate easily.'

The ex-security director also disputed claims from the college that administrators were trying to 'deescalate the crisis,' alleging: 'No one from Oberlin College was trying to calm things down. The only reason the lid didn't explode off the pot was because city police were there.'  

Meanwhile, Oberlin College has been ordered to pay a $33million settlement to the Gibsons for defamation, but has arrogantly declared it still won't pay out after losing a state court appear earlier this month.

The school has also refused to apologize, despite multiple college staff and numerous resources being deployed for the protests and boycotts. 

Like her former colleagues - Reyes and Jones - Raimondo has landed on her feet with a cozy new college job in Georgia despite her appalling behavior.  

Reyes was accused of distributing flyers during a November 2016 protest outside Gibson's Bakery (pictured Tuesday). The administrator also blocked a security official from photographing the event, witnesses allege

This is one of the flyers handed out at the protest that encouraged a boycott of Gibson's Bakery

Students are pictured protesting outside Gibson's Bakery in November 2019

Witnesses testified that Reyes had a stack of defamatory flyers encouraging students to boycott Gibson's and was distributing them at the protest. Reyes is not pictured above

Timeline of Gibson vs. Oberlin College 

Nov. 9, 2016: Allyn Gibson Jr. catches Oberlin College student Jonathan Aladin stealing a bottle of wine from Gibson's Bakery around 5pm, prompting a pursuit down the street. Aladin's friends, Endia Lawrence and Cecilia Whettstone, intervened and a brawl ensued. All three students are arrested.

Later that evening, around 10pm, a group of students plan a protest alleging Allyn Jr racially profiled the three suspects. The students promote the protest via email.

Nov. 10, 2016: Dean of Students Meredith Ramiondo learns of the planned protest around 7am. She helps distribute a student-created flyer detailing the incident and encouraging community members to boycott Gibson's.

Around 11am, approximately 200 students gathered outside Gibson's Bakery in protest.  Raimondo helped lead the demonstration using a megaphone.

Later that evening, around 11.15pm the Oberlin College Student Senate notifies school officials it has passed a resolution condemning the bakery. The resolution posted in a display case at school's student center, where it remained for a year.

Nov. 11, 2016: Students assemble around 11am for a second day of protest.

Nov. 12, 2016: Counterprotests arrive in Oberlin to show their support for the Gibson family. 

Nov. 14, 2016: Oberlin College suspends placing daily orders for bakery products for the dining halls. All other business arrangements with the shop are permitted to continue. 

Nov. 21, 2016: Then-college President Krislov meets with David Gibson and others at the President’s House. 

Jan. 18, 2017: Dean of Students and Chief of Staff meet with David Gibson.

Jan. 23, 2017: President Krislov issues a statement to the campus community indicating that the college is resuming standing orders with the bakery. 

April 27, 2017: Indictments are filed against Aladin, Lawrence and Whettstone, which included felony robbery charges.

Aug. 14, 2017:  The three students charged with shoplifting pleaded guilty to amended misdemeanor charges. The plea deal called for them to receive no jail time and to pay restitution.

Nov. 17, 2017: Gibson family files a defamation lawsuit against Oberlin College and Raimondo. 

June 2019: A jury awards found the school guilty of libel, due largely to evidence against Raimondo. Oberlin College was ordered to pay Gibson's Bakery $40 million in damages, which was reduced to $25 million and $6 million in legal fees

Oct. 9, 2019: Oberlin College announces its attorneys were filing an appeal in the Gibson's Bakery case.

Nov. 16, 2019: David Gibson dies at age 65 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. 

June 5, 2020: Oberlin College files appeal brief in Gibson's Bakery case

Feb. 12, 2022: Allyn Gibson Sr dies at age 93.

March 31, 2022: The court rejects appeals by Oberlin College and upheld the judgment against the school.

April 1, 2022: The court orders Oberlin College to pay Gibson's $33million. The college continues to contest the payout and says it is considering its options.

April 4, 2022: A DailyMail.com reporter visits Oberlin, Ohio and speaks with the Gibson family attorney. 

Reyes, despite his apparent history of bullying and intimidation, was hired at his alma mater, Brown University, in 2017.

According to his university biography, he works to provide 'holistic, co-curricular, and community support' for undocumented and first-generation Brown students and aims to help them 'thrive inside and outside of the classroom'.

He allegedly has a background in student advocacy, program development and social justice training.

After announcing his decision to leave Oberlin College, Reyes told the school's student newspaper, The Oberlin Review, that he was most proud of his work helping new students 'grow and develop'.

'I am most proud of being able to integrate leadership development and work with students in showing that we’re creating a constant community of support, thinking about care and wellness and how that drives the relationships I build with students and also the relationships that students build with each other,' he said in May 2017.

'Also, understanding that as students get older, we have to make sure that we’re bringing new students into the community and working with them and supporting them, helping them grow and develop — understanding that how we think about social justice shifts and changes over time, and we need to make sure that we’re doing that work with younger students.'

He also alleged Oberlin prepared him for working at Brown because 'so much happens constantly' at the school.

'There’s so much happening in terms of student unrest, students wanting more and demanding more of the institution, which makes sense,' Reyes explained. 'But as a younger staff member, I think it really prepares people to take the next step and move professionally because they gain so much experience from working with such a tight-knit community but also learning from students a lot about how to affect change and institutions in a way that’ll make them more comfortable.'

It remains unclear if Brown was aware of Reyes' involvement in the Oberlin protest when they offered him a leadership role and a likely six-figure salary.  

Neither Reyes nor his current employer responded to DailyMail.com's request for comment. 

Similarly, Oberlin College promoted Jones to a vice president role despite his support for Raimondo and her angry mob.

Email correspondence presented to the jury during the trial showed how Jones sent numerous messages to co-executives at Oberlin College rallying behind the defamation of Gibson's Bakery.

After receiving an email from a community member on Nov. 23, 2016 expressing concern over the college's treatment of the bakery, Jones reportedly texted Raimondo that they should cease doing business with Gibson's.

'We should just give all business to Leo at IGA. Better donuts anyway. And all these idiots complaining about the college hurting a "small local business" are conveniently leaving out their massive (relative to the town) conglomerate and price gouging on rents and parking and the predatory behavior towards most other local business. F**k 'em,' he texted her, per his email to staff. 'They've made their own bed now.'  

His message was met with support, including a response from administrator Tita Reed that said: '100%!!!!!!!' 

In another correspondence, after ex-theatre professor Roger Copeland allegedly published a letter criticizing how the college had treated the bakery, Jones sent a text message to Raimondo saying: 'F**K ROGER COPELAND!'

She replied: 'F**k him. I'd say unleash the students if I wasn't convinced this needs to be put behind us.' 

In another email, dated Nov. 11, 2016, Jones told a community member he agreed that 'both sides of this behaved very badly.'

However, he added: 'Gibson's hands are not clean in this, nor are those of the three students. But the bigger issue is that this is not an isolated incident but a pattern, and one that has been confirmed by a lot of people including the many high school kids who showed up yesterday to join the protest.

After receiving an email from a community member on Nov. 23, 2016 expressing concern over the college's treatment of the bakery, Jones reportedly texted Raimondo that they should cease doing business with Gibson's

'The police report is b******t. It's so obviously biased towards Gibson. They didn't even try to hear the other side of the story.' 

Jones was promoted to his new position at Oberlin College in January 2021 after he oversaw the school's website, social media, editorial services and other communications objectives for over a decade.

In his new role, he is responsible for sustaining new recruitment strategies and conducting outreach to ensure the college's success.

He told the campus newspaper after his promotion was announced that he was 'especially excited to engage young adults with what the school has to offer.'

'My education here has had a profound impact on my life that continues to this day,' Jones told The Oberlin Review last year. 'I guess what means the most to me about working here is simply the ability to be able to make a career out of serving a place that I love so much and help others find their way to this incredibly special place.'

Jones did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.

Oberlin College, neglecting to comment on his employment, referred DailyMail.com to a statement it previously issued on Monday. 

Jonathan Aladin, Endia Lawrence (center) and Cecilia Whettstone (right) were all convicted of shoplifting from Oberlin - but the woke college still accused the family-run business they stole from of racism, and boycotted them 

Gibson's Bakery found itself plunged into a firestorm on November 9, 2016, the day after Donald Trump was elected president.

The drama began Allyn Jr caught a black Oberlin student, Jonathan Aladin, attempting to steal a bottle of wine from the bakery.

Allyn Jr chased Aladin down the street and, according to witness accounts, put the man in a choke-hold before two of the student's friends - Endia Lawrence and Cecelia Whettstone - intervened and a brawl ensued. 

The next day Oberlin students held protests outside Gibson's accusing the bakery of racially profiling Aladin. 

Aladin, Lawrence and Whettstone, later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of attempted theft and aggravated trespass, and themselves said Gibson's actions were not racially motivated.

But Oberlin, led by dean Raimondo and many students, had already decided to punish Gibson's for the imaged transgression before allowing them fair due process. 

The family's attorney said the Gibsons were forced to downsize operations because business has significantly slowed and that ‘they’re just trying to hold on until the justice system forces the college to pay for the damages they caused'. Gibson's Bakery is pictured on Tuesday

David Gibson is pictured serving whole wheat donuts to Stevie Wonder in May 2010

The Oberlin College student newspaper publishes photos of the protests and pens: 'The social implications of being seen at Gibson's are much worse than any freshman faux pas I can imagine'

The students held protests outside the storefront that led to a severe loss in business, including the loss of a vital contract the bakery had held with the school for years. 

'When the college sponsored new student tours, the student tour leaders - who are students paid by the college - go by and they tell the students and parents in the group, that Gibson's is a racist establishment and we don’t go there,' Plakas said, alleging this rhetoric still occurs during tours today.

'They told incoming freshmen that the worst faux pas a freshman can commit is being seen at Gibson’s bakery,' he added.

The shop also had suffered frequent thefts in the run-up to the incident which saw it accused of racism. 

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Raimondo encouraged the boycott and distributed fliers during the protests accusing the bakery of a longtime history of racial profiling and offered students up to $100 in compensation for protest supplies.

She even texted another dean to share her desire to unleash another woke mob on an academic who blasted Oberlin's bullying of Gibson's.

She wrote: 'F**k him. I’d say unleash the students if I wasn’t convinced this needs to be put behind us.'

Gibson's Bakery sued Oberlin College and Raimondo in 2017 for loss of business. 

In 2019, the school was found guilty, due largely to evidence against Raimondo.

The institution was ordered to pay Gibson's Bakery $40 million in damages, which was reduced to $25 million and $6 million in legal fees. 

Gibson's Bakery sued Oberlin College (pictured Tuesday) and Raimondo in 2017 for loss of business. In 2019, the school was found guilty, due largely to evidence against Raimondo. The institution was ordered to pay Gibson's Bakery $40 million in damages, which was reduced to $25 million and $6 million in legal fees

The college and Raimondo appealed that sentence, but it was upheld this month. Oberlin College admitted that it is still refusing to pay the cash to the family business it tried to ruin.

The college issued a mealy-mouthed statement when contacted by DailyMail.com on Monday, saying: 'Oberlin is obviously disappointed that the appeals court affirmed the judgment in its ruling. We are reviewing the Court’s opinion carefully as we evaluate our options and determine next steps.

'In the meantime, we recognize that the issues raised by this case have been challenging, not only for the parties involved in the lawsuit, but for the entire Oberlin community. 

'We remain committed to strengthening the partnership between the College, the City of Oberlin and its residents, and the downtown business community. We will continue in that important work while remaining focused on our core educational mission.'

The college was ranked among the 20 most expensive colleges in the U.S. last year, according to a report from The National Observer. Despite the high price tag, the school has only seen a 4 percent decline in its enrollment over the last five years. 

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