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Federal officials are investigating a Brooklyn coffee shop after the store said Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York congressman, was not welcome following a visit with his daughter.In a social media post that has now apparenty been deleted, Poetica Coffee slammed the Jewish congressman — who's currently up for re-election — over his support for Israel.The post, which includes a photo of Goldman standing at the register, read: “We see that you stopped by our shop today for a coffee.”“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.”The coffee shop then went on to say that it had issued a refund to the congressman, and told him to never come to the store.Goldman, in the comments, said that the barista "could not have been nicer" to him and his 7-year-old daughter, who he said had to use the restroom."I hope you at least make sure she gets the tip that she deserved."In response to the post, Harmeet Dillon, the DOJ Assistant Attorney General to the Civil Rights division, wrote that the agency opened an investigation into the shop."Federal law prohibits public accommodations such as coffee shops from discriminating against patrons based on their race, religion, or national origin," she said in a post."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."Poetica Coffee was unable to be reached for comment by USA TODAY Network.Goldman is currently up against Brad Lander, a former city comptroller and mayoral candidate who has the backing of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
