Escalating
The situation continued to escalate, and that’s when the man noticed what was going on. After he witnessed the bullies ruining Robert’s food with the drink, the man knew that it was time to step in and do something about these bullies.
Intervening
As Robert was trying to fend off the bullies, the man stood up and made his way over. He felt that the pouring of the drink was likely just the tip of the iceberg and he wanted to get involved before anything physical would go down.