New York, New York - Congressman Dan Goldman was recently banned from a New York City coffee shop over his support for Israel.
According to The New York Times, Goldman and his seven-year-old daughter visited Poetica Coffee in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Sunday without incident.
But several hours later, the shop's owner shared an Instagram post that included a surveillance camera image of Goldman during his visit.
"We see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee. Do you see how it doesn't taste like genocide juice? Or are you still having a hard time telling the difference?" the post read.
"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."
Goldman ended up responding in the comments section of the post, explaining that he visited the shop so his daughter could use the bathroom and bought a coffee in return for an employee's kind service.
By Monday, the post had been taken down, but screenshots soon spread across social media, sparking a firestorm of criticism and debate.
In an X post, Harmeet Dhillon – President Donald Trump's assistant attorney general overseeing the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division – announced she had launched an investigation into the incident.
Congressman Dan Goldman is seeking re-election
Goldman is currently seeking re-election to represent NYC's 10th District, and the coffee shop incident went viral just as voters headed to the polls on Tuesday to choose which primary party candidates they want to advance to the general election.
While Goldman has faced controversy with progressive Democrats over his staunch support for Israel, his biggest challenger, Brad Lander, has been outspoken against Israel's actions in Gaza and made it a focal point of his campaign.
In a statement regarding the incident, Lander criticized the coffee shop for expressing their outrage by making Goldman feel unwelcome and commended their decision to take the post down.