MIAMI — A dispute between a North Miami cafe owner and a Fox News analyst incited a deluge of online harassment — prompting the cafe to shut down operations until next month.
Gianno Caldwell, a Fox News political analyst and self-acclaimed “sworn enemy of PC (Politically Correct) Culture,” was at Paradis Books & Bread in North Miami enjoying breakfast with friends on Saturday.
The group’s discussion eventually shifted to Caldwell’s conservative viewpoints when one of the cafe’s owners headed over to the table and told them they needed to leave.
In a "Fox & Friends Weekend" segment Sunday, Caldwell said that the owner told him and his friends they weren’t welcome because their politics “do not align.”
“There’s a target on the backs of people who happen to be Black, who happen to be conservative,” Caldwell said on the segment. “It needs to come to an end. ... This should not be the case at all.”
Caldwell, who ranted about the incident on Twitter and Facebook, even added that he hoped Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis will look into what happened at Paradis Books & Bread.
The cafe, however, shared a slightly different account of what transpired Saturday morning on Instagram.
The group arrived, ordered food and sat in the inside corner of the establishment. But they “talked quite loudly” — and the cafe says the conversation was troubling to some of their employees and customers.
According to the cafe’s statement, the group spoke about “women in degrading ways” and used “eugenic arguments around their thoughts on Roe v. Wade.”
“Once it was clear that they were finished with their meal, we told them that our views don’t align, and that the language they were using was unwelcome in our space,” the cafe noted in the statement.
Following the incident, owners have faced harassment and received “alarming messages” on their personal phone numbers, the cafe posted via Instagram.
That’s part of the reason they decided to close until next month.
Since Saturday, enraged conservative have posted tweets about boycotting the North Miami cafe. Dozens of negative comments have also surfaced on Paradis Books & Bread’s Google review page.
Some — possibly motivated by Caldwell’s experience — focused on the quality of the food and service. Others referenced what happened.
“Terrible people that own and operate this establishment,” one reviewer said. “They made my POC friend G.C. and friends leave because they are intolerant of free speech. I’d leave negative stars if I could.”
“The owner is a socialist and doesn’t support the first amendment,” another reviewer said.
And yet another: “Unsafe for certain people to patronize this place.”
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