Seattle-area 'Coffee with a Cop' event canceled after shop owner's Christian views attract LGBTQ backlash
A Seattle suburb canceled its upcoming "Coffee with a Cop" event after it faced protests because of the coffee shop owner's Christian beliefs.
Seattle radio host Jason Rantz reported that the city of Shoreline, Washington, canceled the community event, which aims to strengthen the relationship between police officers and residents, after the city's Facebook page was flooded with negative comments from liberals upset that Pilgrim Coffeehouse would host the event.
Pilgrim Coffeehouse is owned by Keith Carpenter, head pastor of Epic Life Church. The church states it believes marriage is between "one man and one woman" on its website.
Commenters vowed to hold a protest and one even called for the coffee shop to leave the city, saying that Carpenter's views on marriage did not align with the progressive city's ideals.
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"Picked the Christian homophobic coffee house!" an account called "Sounder Sam" posted under the city's venue announcement. The same person alerted the community that a "pro LGBTQIA2S+ protest" was planned outside the coffee house the morning of the event.
Other comments accused the city of picking a "bigoted" and "anti-LGBTQIA+" venue and demanded it be hosted elsewhere.
In response to the backlash, Shoreline abruptly canceled the event, Rantz reported.
"It was neither the department’s nor the City’s intent to make any community member feel unwelcome based on the selection of the event venue and the values that the venue may or may not hold. When planning future events, we will be more intentional with our venue selection," Shoreline City Hall wrote in a March 12 statement posted to Facebook.
The cancelation announcement was met with mostly positive comments.
"Thank you, Shoreline!!!! My family feels a little bit safer in our neighborhood now thanks to this decision," one comment under the City Hall Facebook post read. Another said, "Thank you for listening and doing the right thing."
Carpenter also responded to the cancelation post by outlining all the ways his church helps the needy in the community and pledging that everyone would be treated with respect and dignity at his coffee shop.
He also spoke out against the cancellation in an interview with Rantz.
"It is a form of discrimination, for sure," Carpenter told the radio host, adding that he didn't want to play "the victim card."
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Carpenter said he could deal with online backlash but that there were also "blatant lies" being spread about his church and coffee shop.
"We serve anybody who walks in the door. I don’t even know (if they’re LGBT). We don’t ask questions. So it’s like a non-starter for us, because nobody’s asking questions at the door. Anybody who walks in that space will get the same exact beautiful, generous, generously hospitable treatment. And probably the best cup they’ll have all month or all year," he told Rantz.
He said it didn't "make a lot of sense" that the city would exclude his business from participating in the event while at the same time touting its inclusive values.
"It basically says, ‘We don’t want Pilgrim Coffeehouse in our city,’ and putting it out there publicly," Carpenter told Rantz.
"It’s completely opposite than [the]message they’re trying to say about inclusivity. It’s the opposite of that, and it’s hard. It’s hard as a business," he added.
A spokesperson for the City of Shoreline told Fox News Digital, "The City is committed to being a welcoming place for all people, no matter who they are or what they believe."
"The work of local government is mostly focused on the basics—it is potholes, sidewalks, and public safety. Coffee with a Cop is supposed to be a place where law enforcement can talk with residents about law enforcement in Shoreline. When the March 26 event got caught up in issues other than public safety, it could no longer serve its purpose and was canceled. Moving forward, we will only host these events at public facilities," the spokesperson added.
Carpenter did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.