Seattle-area city cancels 'Coffee with a Cop' event after complaints about Christian shop owner

A Seattle-area city has canceled a "Coffee with a Cop" event after some leftist activists complained about the Christian views of the coffee shop owner who offered to host it.

As they have done periodically, police in Shoreline, Washington, had planned a "Coffee with a Cop" event for the morning of March 26. The event is intended to foster closer relationships between law enforcement officers and the community they serve.

However, when some radical activists learned that the event would be held at Pilgrim Coffee — owned by Keith Carpenter, the pastor of Epic Life Church — they decided to arrange a protest instead.

"Dear Shoreline, a pro LGBTQIA2S+ protest will be scheduled in front of Pilgrim Coffeehouse on Wednesday, March 26th from 10am to 11-40! Show up loud and proud!" user Sounder Sam commented on a Facebook post promoting the event, according to conservative radio host Jason Rantz of KTTH 770.

'We believe things that many of you don’t believe in, full stop. But there are likely many things you and I actually agree about.'

Rather than continue with the secular event at a secular coffee shop that just happens to have an owner with Christian beliefs, the city caved and canceled the event.

"It was neither the departments, 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," the city posted to Facebook.

"Again, we are reaffirming our commitment to creating a thriving city that is Welcoming to All. Part of how we can do that is by listening to our community, taking feedback, be it negative or positive, and coming out better and stronger. We listen. We see you. We hear you, Shoreline."

Carpenter, who does hold biblical views on marriage, tried to plead his case in the comments, noting the charitable work that he and his church members have done in the area. He also claimed his name has been unfairly maligned as "hateful, misogynistic, racist, and a whole slew of other things."

"The fact is none of you know anything about me or our church community, which you are so quick to throw under the bus. Yes, you are correct, we believe things that many of you don’t believe in, full stop. But there are likely many things you and I actually agree about," he wrote.

Carpenter even attempted to build bridges with those who disagree with him by offering to chat about some of those differences over a cup of joe. "If you would like to sit down and get to know me, please let me know, coffee will be on me," he said.

Despite Carpenter's measured response, leftists cheered the cancellation of the event:

• "I hope to attend an event at an inclusive venue in the future. Thank you for listening!" said one user.
• "Thank you for hearing the public on this! Please know that we do want coffee with cops, but we want it at places where everyone is welcome!" added another.
• "Thank you, City of Shoreline. It's wonderful to feel heard," claimed another.

'We are trying as a city to truly be inclusive all across the board.'

He also feels frustrated by the "blatant lies" about his coffee shop, which serves everyone, regardless of their identity. "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.

When speaking with Rantz about the reasons for the cancellation, a representative of Shoreline did not reference Carpenter's Christian beliefs specifically, choosing instead to dance around them using vague language that devolved into a word salad.

"In this case, the goal was to provide a place to talk with members of our police department about law enforcement and public safety in Shoreline. When it became bound up with broader, political concerns expressed by folks that may or may not be — I mean, that’s their opinions, and they’re entitled — I think then we felt like that was a distraction from the core purpose of the meeting announced what drove the cancellation," the person apparently rambled.

"We are trying as a city to truly be inclusive all across the board."

Going forward, Shoreline plans to host future "Coffee with a Cop" events on city property, the spokesperson said. "It allows us to not have to engage in and create any concerns by anybody out there that there’s some sort of higher level political overlay at play," the person clarified.

Carpenter told Rantz that the Shoreline Police Department apologized to him, though Chief Tommy Collins did not respond to a request for comment from Rantz.

H/T: Jonathan Choe

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!