Man shouts 'All Lives Matter' at Brooklyn barista in one man 'protest' over poster
A man was caught on camera staging a one man All Lives Matter “protest” outside a coffee shop on Friday over a Black Lives Matter sign displayed in their window.
Abraham “Avrumy” Knofler was filmed by a bystander outside Burly Coffee in the Bed-Stuy neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York City, on Thursday where he can be heard telling a barista that he was offended by the sign and chanting “All Lives Matter”.
“This is the most racist thing out there, I'm not a racist.” Mr Knofler says about the poster. “This is offensive and I want you to take off this sign.”
The footage of the incident, which was first reported by Gothamist, quickly went viral.
“So, this was my morning. I just wanted to get some coffee. But this racist a******e decided it's time to educate us and “make a protest” about how “all lives matter”, Rohan Singh, the man who recorded the footage, said on Twitter.
“From what the barista told me, the man specifically walked up to complain about either the sign and/or the mask policy,” Mr Singh told Gothamist.
“The barista was already trying to get the man to leave when I arrived. I stepped up and harshly told him to leave as well, but he wouldn't. So then I just started filming.”
In the footage, the woman and a number of bystanders continue to ask Mr Knofler to leave.
“I don't understand why this is so offensive to you, to see something saying that 'Black Lives Matter,'” the store's employee said. "It's not saying that all lives don't matter, it's just saying that Black lives matter because they haven't mattered in this country ever."
The video of the confrontation continues for about 10 minutes. Throughout the argument Mr Knofler is not wearing a face mask, despite another sign on the shop front stipulating that customers wear a face-covering.
“Why do I need a mask?” he asked repeatedly after the barista tells him to leave and others tell him he should be wearing a mask.
“The pandemic is a hoax, only sheep like you wear the mask, because you've been told whatever you've been told, but you don't use your head, because you're stupid,” he shouts at the crowd in another part of the footage.
While Mr Singh described Mr Knofler as “nonviolent” he added that “it was a horrible situation for the barista who was trapped there."
“I feel really bad for her,” he said.
Mr Knofler identified himself as the man in the footage in a phone interview with Gothamist and said that he “was making a protest—all lives matter”. "They don't have to take it down, I just wanted to defend all lives matter."
Burly Coffee posted a statement regarding the incident on its Instagram page on Thursday. "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," the company said.
"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."
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