U.S. civil-rights officials have opened a federal investigation into Brooklyn-based Poetica Coffee after the seven-store chain publicly declared it would not serve Congressman Dan Goldman because of his support for Israel, escalating a local service dispute into a test of anti-discrimination laws for hospitality businesses.
The probe was announced on June 22, 2026, by Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon in a post on X and confirmed in U.S. Department of Justice statements the following day, according to Al Jazeera and other U.S. media. The investigation follows Poetica’s June 21 social media message saying Goldman was not welcome at its cafes and that his earlier purchase had been refunded $9.82, as reported by NBC New York and Al Jazeera.
In her post, cited by Al Jazeera, Dhillon wrote: “These actions are not only reprehensible, they’re potentially illegal,” and added, “The Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation, and will bring an enforcement action if warranted.” Federal law bars public accommodations from discriminating on the basis of race, religion or national origin, both Al Jazeera and Fox News noted, while emphasizing that U.S. statutes do not extend the same protections to political belief or ideology.
Poetica’s since-deleted posts, quoted by Al Jazeera, Fox News and NBC New York, directly attacked Goldman’s stance on Israel and the war in Gaza. “We see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn’t taste like genocide juice?” one message read, before concluding: “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.” NBC New York reported that Poetica later deactivated its Instagram account after backlash to the posts.
Al Jazeera described Poetica Coffee as a Brooklyn-born chain that opened its first cafe in May 2020 under founder Parviz Mukhamadkulov, an Uzbek immigrant, and has since expanded to seven locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan’s East Village. Local outlet Park Slope Pulse has previously listed its Brooklyn addresses at 240 Prospect Park West and 529 Atlantic Avenue, among others.
The incident has drawn sharp criticism from Jewish communal leaders. Fox News quoted Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, who wrote on X that “turning a cup of coffee into a Jewish identity litmus test is an affront to the law, our values, and every New Yorker who rejects discrimination.” Fox News also reported a brief comment from a Poetica staffer to another outlet saying, “No comment. We stand against genocide.”
Goldman, a Democrat representing New York and a self-described “proud Zionist,” has been a vocal supporter of Israel and has received nearly $195,000 in campaign donations from AIPAC and aligned groups in the current election cycle, according to Al Jazeera. His stance on Israel and those donations have been a point of attack in a primary challenge from former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, Al Jazeera and NBC New York reported.
In public comments after the Poetica posts surfaced, Goldman drew a contrast between the online rhetoric and his in-store experience. NBC New York, Al Jazeera and Fox News each cited his statement that “the barista could not have been nicer to my 7-year-old daughter and me — allowing her to use the bathroom even though we had not purchased anything. I made sure to buy a coffee in return for her kindness,” followed by, “I’m sorry to see this post.”
Goldman has also questioned the focus of federal investigators. In remarks reported by Al Jazeera and NBC New York, he said, “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,” even as the Justice Department reiterated through Dhillon’s X post that it will “bring an enforcement action if warranted.”
Beyond the federal inquiry, local opposition has moved offline: NBC New York reported that a rally against Poetica Coffee was scheduled for Wednesday morning, June 24, outside its Williamsburg location, underscoring how a single refused cup of coffee has become a flashpoint between a cafe’s political stance, civil-rights enforcement and community expectations around discrimination.
