The Justice Department said Monday that it's investigating a chain of New York City coffee shops for banning a congressman over his support for Israel.
In a Sunday post on Facebook, Poetica Coffee wrote that it had refunded and barred Democratic Rep. Daniel Goldman, from New York's 10th District, saying he was not "ever" welcome at its stores in Brooklyn and the East Village.
"Hey Congressman Dan Goldman, we see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee," read the post, which was accompanied by a photo of Goldman at the counter. "Do you see how it doesn't taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference?"
It continued: "See, here at Poetica, we don't serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between. Too bad we didn't recognize you right away, or we would have turned you away. We issued you a refund—we don't need your money (it's probably coming from AIPAC anyways)."
Screenshots posted online showed that Goldman responded, saying he was sorry to see Poetica's post and that he bought a coffee from the business after a barista allowed his 7-year-old daughter to use the restroom, even though they had not purchased anything prior.
"I made sure to buy a coffee in return for her kindness. I hope you at least make sure she gets the tip that she deserved," Goldman wrote.
According to federal data, Goldman, who is facing a primary challenge from former city Comptroller Brad Lander, received an endorsement and more than $190,000 in direct and earmarked donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for the 2026 cycle. Facing mounting pressure from Lander, Goldman publicly disavowed the donations and pledged to return the funds, Politico reported.
In an interview with CNN, Goldman talked about his experience at the cafe. "It's a reflection, I think, of a sad state of affairs that without knowing me, we could have had such a nice interaction," Goldman said.
"I am a strong proponent of equal rights, of civil rights, of human rights, and what is going on in the Middle East is horrific, and the idea of accusing someone who you don't know of supporting a genocide, I mean it's crazy," he told CNN. "Now, I may disagree as to whether or not there is a genocide, but come on, we're better than this."
By Monday evening, the coffee shop's founder, Parviz Mukhamadkulov, had become the subject of a pile-on of negative reviews and a federal probe, with Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, writing in an X post that the division was aware of the incident.
"Federal law prohibits public accommodations such as coffee shops from discriminating against patrons based on their race, religion, or national origin," Dhillon wrote. "These actions are not only reprehensible, they're potentially illegal. The Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation, and will bring an enforcement action if warranted."
In his interview with CNN, Goldman said that he would rather the Justice Department "spend their time and resources investigating antisemitism against people who do not have a platform that I do, who are not elected officials, who do not — in some ways — ask for this." He added that he is "a public figure" and "can accept the criticism."
Representatives for Poetica Coffee, the Justice Department, and Goldman did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
