Grocery store gets restraining order against Fresno anti-mask protester after confrontation
A judge has granted a northeast Fresno grocery store a restraining order against an anti-mask activist who led a protest at the market on Jan. 23.
The Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market filed the request on behalf of the store’s manager who said protester Benjamin Martin, 50, threatened her after a confrontation in front of the store between store employees, protesters and customers wearing masks.
Fresno County Superior Court Judge Mark Cullers granted the workplace violence restraining order on Tuesday. It will remain in effect until March, 29, 2021.
Martin, a real estate agent, said Thursday he was unaware of the order.
“I had no clue they did that,” he said in a text message. “I haven’t been served.”
Martin has been at the forefront of several anti-mask events that caused the targeted businesses to temporarily close and ignited shouting matches between anti-mask protesters and the general public.
He was briefly detained at the Sprouts on Alluvial and Blackstone avenues by police and was issued a citation for trespassing.
But he vowed to come back, according to the restraining order.
“He says he will return to Sprouts this week, and on social media has incited others to accost Sprouts locations. He threatened the manager that she ‘is next,’ and that he would go after her personally. Publicly available court records suggest he has a criminal record and has been sentenced in connection with a battery charge,” the restraining order request states.
Martin’s criminal history
Martin has been arrested or charged several times over the past 15 years. In 1998 he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor burglary charge. In 2018, he was charged with battery and assault likely to produce great bodily harm in a domestic violence-related case. Court records say Martin became angry at his girlfriend for searching through his phone while he was asleep. When he woke and realized what she was doing, he squeezed her neck until she could not breathe and then let go, according to court records.
He pleaded no contest to battery and was given three years formal probation. That was reduced to conditional probation in November. His probation expires Jan. 1, 2022. A criminal protective order for the victim also remains in effect.
He pleaded no contest to a wet reckless charge in July 2010 and was given three years conditional sentence. Charges of driving under influence of a drug and driving without a license were dropped in exchange for the no-contest plea to reckless driving.
As part of the Sprouts restraining order, Martin is not allowed within 100 yards of the store. He also is prohibited from harassing, stalking or entering the store.
Sprouts officials also wanted the judge to know that Martin was among thousands who took part in the breach on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Real estate response
A spokesperson for Martin’s employer Keller Williams Fresno said Wednesday the firm would not comment directly on the restraining order, saying it’s a personnel matter, but she did say Martin was no longer with Keller Williams Fresno.
“His actions are his own and not representative of the company,” said Joanna Odabashian, team leader at Keller Williams Fresno and Martin’s sister.
Martin’s real estate license remains on restricted status by the California Department of Real Estate for failing to disclose his criminal conviction for battery. Department officials said restricted status allows him to continue to work as a real estate agent, while being on a type of probationary status.
“This stipulated settlement allows him to keep his license but if he has any other violations it can be suspended without having to go to court,” said Rick Lopes, spokesman for the Department of Real Estate.
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 3:26 PM.
