DOJ Investigates Poetica Coffee After Brooklyn Chain Bans Rep. Dan Goldman Over Israel Support

The U.S. Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation into Poetica Coffee after the Brooklyn chain banned Rep. Dan Goldman over his support for Israel, following a since-deleted social media post that said “we don’t serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between.”

“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”

Al Jazeera

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the probe was triggered by Poetica’s “denial of service taunts,” and she cited federal law prohibiting public accommodations from discriminating against patrons based on “race, religion, or national origin.”

Al Jazeera

Goldman, a Democrat from New York, said the post did not match his visit, telling CNN’s Laura Coates that he had “such a nice interaction with the barista in the coffee shop.”

The incident unfolded as Goldman faced a Democratic primary challenge from former city comptroller Brad Lander in Tuesday’s New York Democratic primary, with the dispute framed around Goldman’s pro-Israel stance and his opponent’s criticism of Israel.

Poetica’s deleted post, as quoted by multiple outlets, told Goldman “Too bad we didn’t recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away,” and it added “Enjoy your loss on Tuesday. Don’t ever come to Poetica.”

Goldman responded that he would rather the Justice Department focus on “investigating antisemitism against people who do not have a platform that I do,” arguing the probe was misdirected.

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Lander defended Goldman in a statement, saying “There are plenty of ways to lobby elected officials and express outrage at the votes they’ve taken without turning coffee shops into places people don’t feel welcome,” while also saying he was “glad Poetica took down their post.”

Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayor who endorsed Lander, told reporters, “I have many political disagreements with Congressman Goldman … I think that what we saw online goes beyond that.”

The dispute also drew attention from Jewish leaders and negative reviews on Yelp, with the coffee shop’s Instagram account deactivated after the backlash described by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The investigation centers on whether Poetica’s actions violated anti-discrimination rules for public accommodations, with Dhillon saying the Civil Rights Division “will bring an enforcement action if warranted.”

Goldman said he did not think the coffee shop’s treatment merited an investigation, telling CNN that he would “rather they spend their time and resources investigating antisemitism against people who do not have a platform that I do.”

The controversy is tied directly to the Tuesday primary contest in New York’s 10th Congressional District, where Goldman and Lander compete and where the Jewish Telegraphic Agency described tensions over Israel as fueling a rival’s surging bid to unseat him.

Outside the courtroom and campaign trail, the dispute prompted a rally planned for Wednesday outside Poetica’s Williamsburg location, with #EndJewHatred organizers saying they were calling attention to “dangerous escalation from inflammatory political rhetoric to real-world discrimination” against Jews.