LYNN, Mass. (WHDH) — The owner of a Lynn coffee shop said she is closing her business because of the firestorm created when her daughter, the store’s manager, made anti-police comments on Facebook.
The owner of White Rose Coffeehouse in Lynn told 7News she believes online trolls killed her business. She is turning away customers, having now closed for good.
“It’s a combination of factors. I’d say that I’ve just had enough. I’m exhausted. I love my daughter and I wan’t to heal my daughter and my relationship,” said Kato Mele.
Mele tried to make amends after her daughter, Sophie, wrote on her personal Facebook page on Oct. 13 that the business would never host a “Coffee with a Cop” event. In the post, Sophie referred to cops as “bullies,” saying “I am adamantly anti-police.”
After some back-and-forth with Facebook users, Sophie added a comment about police that said “they uphold an unjust system and murder without consequence.”
“I don’t agree with what she said,” Mele said of her daughter. “It should have never been linked to my business.”
The comments sparked a huge backlash online, with some calling Mele’s daughter an “anarchist child” with a “deep hatred for cops.” Mele said some people threatened her daughter’s life, wishing harm upon her. She said she also received messages from people, saying they hope her cafe gets robbed.
“They’re on there saying they hope my daughter dies and that they hope someone assaults her and the police won’t help,” Mele said.
Mele fired her daughter and wrote police an apology letter, calling the remarks “distasteful, biased and hateful.” She said the work police do is heroic.
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