US gov’t investigates New York coffee chain over ban on pro-Israel lawmaker
Key takeaways
- Top civil rights prosecutor announces probe after cafe chain says it will not serve Democratic lawmaker Dan Goldman.
- “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.”
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Top civil rights prosecutor announces probe after cafe chain says it will not serve Democratic lawmaker Dan Goldman.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo The US Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a news conference in Washington, DC, on May 6, 2025 [Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo]By John Power Published On 23 Jun 202623 Jun 2026The 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.