Antoine Tolbert, activist indicted on extortion, intimidation, goes 1-on-1 with I-Team

CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team went one-on-one with an activist just indicted on seven charges including extortion and intimidation.

Antoine Tolbert said he works in the streets to protect the community, and he received a $25,000 grant from the city of Cleveland and the Cleveland Foundation to make the streets safer.

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But one of the owners of a local gas station said Tolbert has threatened and “terrorized” his workers. The owner, Rubin Swift, said Tolbert and members of his organization have stood in front of their store wearing masks and carrying rifles.

On Monday, the I-Team asked Tolbert about those allegations.

“Yeah, the masks and assault rifles are totally legal,” Tolbert said. “I didn’t do anything they are accusing me of doing.”

Swift said Tolbert demanded money to provide protection at the gas station located on Lee and Harvard.

“We don’t need his protection and we didn’t ask for it,” Swift said. “They just showed up and took over. They are terrorizing us.”

The I-Team obtained a 911 call made from a gas station employee earlier this month when the organization showed up and stood in front of the store.

“They got big guns. Half of them got guns,” the caller said. “They’re threatening people. They’re scaring people. They won’t let nobody in the business.”

But Tolbert stressed he was just trying to “protect the community.”

“Did we tell them that they couldn’t leave the store or did they perceive that they couldn’t leave the store? That’s exactly the difference,” Tolbert said.

The I-Team reminded him the store is private property, not his. He answered, “It’s my community.”

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Tolbert and his attorney went to Cleveland Municipal Court on Monday for a preliminary hearing. But the hearing was postponed since the Cuyahoga County grand jury was hearing the case. Cuyahoga County prosecutors and Cleveland police Fourth District detectives took the case in for more charges.

On Monday afternoon, the grand jury returned a seven-count indictment against Tolbert. He faces two counts of extortion, two counts of aggravated riot, breaking and entering, aggravated menacing and intimidation.

Tolbert said he used the money he received from the city and the Cleveland Foundation to help with young people, and he has receipts to show how the money was spent.

The $25,000 grant was part of $1 million awarded to community groups to prevent violence. The money was awarded through the city and the Cleveland Foundation.

The I-Team asked city officials how they track and measure what the organizations are doing with the money they received. No one from City Hall would answer our questions on camera.

For days, we sent emails to the mayor’s office requesting to speak to someone about this, and for an entire week, no one responded at all.

On Monday, a city spokesperson instead told us to contact the Cleveland Foundation. He also sent us news clips about crime statistics purporting to show the impact of the Neighborhood Safety Fund.

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On late Monday afternoon, the city spokesman also sent this response:

Discussions about the Neighborhood Safety Fund, previous grantees, and future planning are frequent and always remain ongoing. Each grantee is expected to execute the deliverables identified in their proposals to reach the impact described and then report on the status of those to the Cleveland Foundation. When the city partnered with the foundation, it was explicitly stated in the agreement that reporting impact (e.g. number of individuals served, type/frequency of service, etc.) is a responsibility of the Foundation – ‘… upon reasonable request of donor, the foundation will provide … an annual report on the fund, including the fund’s balance, performance and any grants made from the fund.

Although the one-year grant period has not yet ended for this cycle (since the first set of grants were awarded in December), the city is working with the foundation and city council to schedule a formal update after they return from recess.

Meanwhile, as we spoke to Tolbert, his lawyer stopped the interview, saying we were cross-examining him.

Tolbert is due to appear in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court next month.

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