Justice Department Probes NYC Coffee Chain Over Refusal to Serve Lawmaker

The United States Department of Justice has opened a civil rights probe into a New York coffee chain that announced it would not serve a Democratic lawmaker over his support for Israel.

Harmeet K. Dhillon, the top civil rights prosecutor at the Justice Department, said on Monday that she had ordered the investigation after Poetica Coffee, a small Uzbek-inspired cafe chain, declared on social media that US House Representative Dan Goldman was not welcome at its stores.

“These actions are not only reprehensible, they’re potentially illegal,” Dhillon, an appointee of US President Donald Trump, said in a post on X.

“The Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation, and will bring an enforcement action if warranted.”

Poetica Coffee, which has seven branches in Brooklyn and the East Village, made the comments on Sunday after Goldman had visited one of its cafes with his daughter.

“We see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee,” Poetica Coffee said in Facebook and Instagram posts that were accompanied by a picture of Goldman at its Lorimer Street, Brooklyn branch.

“Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference?

“See, here at Poetica, we don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between,” Poetica Coffee continued.

“Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away.”

Poetica Coffee added that it had refunded Goldman $9.82 he spent at the branch and that he should never return.

Poetica Coffee and its founder, Parviz Mukhamadkulov, did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment.

In an interview with CNN on Monday, Goldman lamented the incident.

“We’ve lost, I think, some perspective on decorum and appropriateness and just decency and conversation,” Goldman said.

But the New York congressman said he did not believe the coffee chain should be investigated.

“I would rather they spend their time and resources investigating anti-Semitism against people who do not have a platform that I do, who are not elected officials,” he said.

It is unclear on what legal basis the Justice Department would be able to take enforcement action against Poetica Coffee.

While both US federal and New York state law prohibit businesses from refusing service on the basis of various protected characteristics, including race, religion, sex, and national origin, those protections do not extend to political belief or ideology.

Goldman is known as a vocal supporter of Israel within the Democratic Party, describing himself as a “proud Zionist and steadfast supporter” of the country.

Goldman, who is facing a primary challenge from vocal Israel critic Brad Lander, received campaign donations worth nearly $195,000 from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and affiliated groups during the current election cycle.

Goldman has denied that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, though he has described the situation in the enclave as “horrific” and called for an end to fighting there.

He has also been highly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling his government “extremist” and expressing opposition to the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank.