Listen Live
WERE AM Mobile App 2020

LISTEN LIVE. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Joy 107.1 Featured Video
CLOSE
Bed Stuy coffee shop BLM protest viral video

Source: YouTube

A white man screaming “All Lives Matter” in Brooklyn was ironically putting all lives at risk and holding up store business because of a “Black Lives Matter” sign. Now the coffee shop involved has spoken out.

The video went viral on Thursday, showing a man identified as Abraham “Avrumy” Knofler visiting a Bed-Stuy coffee shop with no face mask on or personal protective equipment. He was demanding that the barista at Burly Coffee take down a “Black Lives Matter” sign posted at the window.

Rohan Singh filmed the incident around 9:35 a.m. on Thursday, saying on Twitter, “I just wanted to get some coffee.” Singh continued, “But this racist a–hole decided it’s time to educate us and ‘make a protest’ about how ‘all lives matter.’”

 

In the video, Knofler had the nerve to say the “Black Lives Matter” sign is “causing problems” and it’s the “most racist thing out there.”

Meanwhile, the barista continued to defend the sign and bring attention to another sign at the shop reading “No mask, no service.” But Knofler refused to leave the premise and he kept pointing to the BLM sign saying, “you need to take this off” while recording the whole incident on his phone.

Bystanders came to the barista’s defense with one yelling, “This is an establishment. This is her workplace. Stop harassing her.”

Knofler response was that he’s “making a protest” and he proceeded to chant “all lives matter” repeatedly.

“It’s not a protest. You’re just harassing me,” the employee responded.

 

Singh posted more of the incident on YouTube and said it lasted about 20 minutes before the barista eventually left the store and closed the door behind her, causing Knofler to leave.

In an interview with Gothamist, the publication asked Knofler what he was trying to get out of his “protest.” He said, “They don’t have to take it down, I just wanted to defend all lives matter.” According to Gothamist, Knofler’s now deleted Twitter page featured a lot of pro-Trump content with various retweets of conservative figures. He also referred to the coronavirus as a hoax (“#covidBS”), according to Gothamist.

By Friday morning, the video involving Knofler and the barista received over 5 million views on Twitter.

Burly Coffee responded to the incident in an Instagram post, writing, “We strongly stand with Black Lives Matter and applaud our staff for standing up to the blinding hate that has appeared at our door. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident with this person and our priority continues to be the safety and well-being of our staff.”

They continued, “We are overwhelmed by the generous support of our staff via our Venmo Tip Jar. The baristas that experienced this hatred will receive the tips directly. Burly will be making a contribution in support of the community we love and are thankful to be a part of.”

 

SEE ALSO:

Juneteenth: Celebrating The Early Moments Of Freedom Today

11 Black Women Joe Biden Should Consider For His Vice Presidential Running Mate

Bed-Stuy Coffee Shop Addresses White Man Protesting ‘Black Lives Matter’ Sign  was originally published on newsone.com