A couple claims they were racially profiled during a marriage proposal at Angry Orchard in Walden last Sunday.

A woman who identifies herself as Marie Cleone posted to Facebook and said she and her soon-to-be fiancé drove to Angry Orchard last Sunday from New York City to enjoy the afternoon with a group of six of their friends.

Before she and her boyfriend could sit down, a young lady from security approached the couple and apologized, saying she had to check Cleone’s boyfriend’s back pocket because she was told he stole a T-shirt from the gift store.

Cleone’s boyfriend then emptied all his pockets, taking care to keep the ring box hidden from Cleone’s sight. The security staff left, and Cleone’s boyfriend began his proposal speech. Then, the couple was interrupted again.

“Mid proposal, the same young lady from security walks back towards us and says to me, ‘I’m sorry, I need to check your bag. I was told that he gave it to you, and you put it in your bag.’,” Cleone wrote in a Facebook post. “Mind you, my bag isn’t even large enough to fit a T-shirt. I emptied my entire bag in front of her.”

It was then that Cleone questioned the security staff’s intentions.

“Since this was the SECOND time she had walked over, I said, ‘I know you’re just doing your job, but I can’t help but wonder if this is because we’re Black. We’re the only Black people here at your establishment.’ Of course, she said that wasn’t the case,” Cleone wrote.

Cleone’s boyfriend then proposed, to which she happily said yes. Their six friends walked over to congratulate and hug them.

The group was then approached a third time by the same security guard, who asked to check everyone’s purses and pockets. Six other security staff approached the group.

“Of course my friends told them none of us stole a T-shirt from their establishment, at which point they started getting aggressive and saying that not only them, but also patrons saw my boyfriend steal the shirt and/or transfer it to me to put in my bag!!” Cleone wrote. “Another woman in security yelled to one of the male security, ‘Call the police! I saw you steal it.’”

Cleone then inquired if Angry Orchard had security cameras. When the security staff said yes, she asked that they roll back the tape so they could see that no one in their party stole anything.

Security then took their picture, recorded video, and took a picture of their vehicle’s license plate number.

“We as a group decided to leave rather than be attacked by the multiple security guards of Angry Orchard,” Cleone wrote. “I have never been so humiliated in my life, myself and some of my friends left Angry Orchard in tears. On what was supposed to be the best day of my life, I was chased out of Angry Orchard by security who followed us all the way to parking lot.”

Cleone went on to say she would have no reason to steal a T-shirt from the gift shop, as she could afford to by all of them because she is a doctor.

“I implore Angry Orchard to roll back their security footage on July 21, 2019 because they owe all 8 of us an apology. Angry Orchard if you don’t want Black People buying your product or frequenting your establishment, then maybe put a sign on the door so that we know we are not welcome. I love hard cider, but Angry Orchard will never touch these lips again,” Cleone said, concluding her post.

Angry Orchard released a statement on Tuesday, stating the company launched an investigation into the incident. The company also apologized to Cleone and offered to make it right.

“We recognize that we badly mishandled this situation and our team’s response was inexcusable,” Angry Orchard said in their statement, which was posted to Facebook.

Angry Orchard fired the security team members working that day and the manager who was on duty. The company also initiated mandatory training for its staff.

“We are initiating additional, mandatory training on security awareness and unconscious bias for everyone on staff to prevent something like this from happening in the future,” Angry Orchard stated. “We’re deeply sorry that our guests were mistreated. This event does not reflect our company values of respect for all and creating a welcoming environment for our guests, and while we wish it didn’t occur at all, we are treating this moment as a valuable learning experience for our staff.”