Video shows New York man lashing out at barista over coffee shop's BLM sign: 'This is the most racist thing'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Another racially charged-incident was reported in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday, June 18, amidst increasing reports of similar incidents being caught on camera in the United States. In the recent incident, a man slammed a barista for displaying a Black Lives Matter sign in the window of Burly Coffee in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
The incident was recorded by Rohan Singh on his phone camera, who tweeted on June 18, writing: "So, this was my morning. I just wanted to get some coffee. But this racist a****** decided it's time to educate us and 'make a protest' about how 'all lives matter.'"
The man in the video, identified as Abraham "Avrumy" Knofler by Gothamist, slams the barista of the coffee shop, asking her to remove the Black Lives Matter sign because he is "offended" by it. "You need to take down the sign, it's offensive," he can be heard saying in the video. "This is the most racist thing out there... I'm not a racist... This is offensive and it needs to come off."
The barista, however, attempts to make Knofler understand the meaning of the sign and tries to reason with him, saying: "I don't know why this is offensive to you, to see something that says Black Lives Matter... It just means black lives haven't always mattered." When Knofler continues his rant, the barista says that she offended by his behavior, to which he replies saying: "Why are you are offended? You burned down a whole city!" A bystander also joins in the conversation, laughing, and says: "She didn't burn down the city!"
Knofler, while talking to the outlet, said: "I was making a protest—all lives matter." When asked what he was attempting to get out of confrontation, he told the Gothamist, "They don't have to take it down, I just wanted to defend all lives matter." Knofler, according to his Twitter page, is pro-Trump, and often retweets conservative figures on the micro-blogging platform. He also refers to coronavirus as a hoax, as suggested through one of the hashtags he recently used "#covidBS."
Shortly after the incident, Burly Coffee issued a statement on Twitter, saying that this was not the first time the shop's baristas had this kind of an encounter with Knofler. The firm said that they had received tips from generous people after the incident, and added that the tip will directly go to the baristas who experienced Knofler's hatred on June 18.
"We strongly stand with Black Lives Matter and applaud our staff for standing up to the blinding hate that has appeared at our door," the coffee store's statement reads. "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 wrote. "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."