Outside the locked doors of the Lakewood location of Rising Star, a popular Cleveland-based coffee chain, a frustrated customer uselessly tugged on the handle before spinning on their heels and walking away.

It's the fourth day the cafe has been closed after Lakewood police responded Sunday to a line of hundreds of customers spilling out the doors and winding down Madison Avenue just minutes before the shop closed under temporarily reduced hours.

Owners called the gathering a "mob" in a social media post. Employees, some of whom have since been fired in what they call illegal retaliation, characterize a much different scene: one they say was a show of community support for organizing a union.

"The whole goal was just to serve coffee to people," said Clay Reid, a member of the Rising Sta

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