Kaitlyn Kiepert writes for National Review Online about a new federal investigation.
A New York City coffee chain made clear in a Monday social-media post that Representative Dan Goldman was not welcome due to his moderately pro-Israel views and refunded the Democratic lawmaker for a coffee he had bought the day before.
The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division opened an investigation into Poetica Coffee in response to the hostile Instagram post targeting Goldman, who had visited the chain’s Lorimer Street location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Sunday with his seven-year-old daughter.
“See, here at Poetica, we don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between,” the café wrote. “Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away.”
The post warned Goldman never to come back and refunded his $9.82 coffee, claiming that “it’s probably coming from AIPAC anyway.”
The Department of Justice took immediate action.
“Federal law prohibits public accommodations such as coffee shops from discriminating against patrons based on their race, religion, or national origin,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon on X. “These actions are not only reprehensible, they’re potentially illegal.”
Goldman, who said he stopped in the coffee shop so his daughter could use the bathroom, said the experience was “quite surprising.”
“I had such a nice interaction with the barista in the coffee shop,” Goldman said in an interview on CNN. “She couldn’t have been nicer and allowed by daughter to go use the bathroom and I honestly was so grateful for her kindness that I felt like I should buy a coffee, so I did and I gave her a large tip.”
Poetica’s Instagram account appears to have been deleted, though screenshots of the post attacking Goldman have circulated widely on X.
