The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division opened an investigation into Poetica Coffee, a small Brooklyn-based chain, after the business said it would not serve Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) over his support for Israel, multiple outlets reported June 23, 2026. Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the Civil Rights Division, said on June 22 that she had ordered the investigation.
Goldman had visited a branch with his daughter on June 21; the shop then posted that “we don't serve racists, fascists, homophobes, genocide enablers, or anyone in between,” refunded the $9.82 he had spent, and told him not to return. Federal and New York public-accommodation laws bar refusing service based on protected characteristics such as race, religion, sex, and national origin, but not political belief, leaving it unclear what authority the department has to act.
Notably, Goldman himself opposed the probe, saying he 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.” The episode is an example of a Trump appointee directing federal civil-rights enforcement against a private business over a political dispute.