Whitfield stood up from his booth at a Denny’s on Ponce de Leon Avenue at approximately 11 PM and began delivering what multiple witnesses described as ‘a genuinely well-structured lecture on the fall of the Roman Empire’ to the entire restaurant. He had brought a laser pointer and a folding whiteboard. The presentation included a bibliography slide. A table of Emory students began taking notes. Whitfield refused to leave until he had fielded audience questions, which he did for approximately twelve minutes before officers intervened. He is not a professor. He works at a Jiffy Lube.