Portland coffee shop vandalized, damaged before ‘Coffee with a Cop’ event
Bison Coffeehouse owner Loretta Guzman on the damages to her coffee shop after advertising an upcoming ‘Coffee with a Cop’ event in Portland, Oregon.
A Portland, Oregon, coffee shop owner had to clean up after masked vandals shattered her store's windows and spray-painted inside ahead of a "Coffee with a Cop" event.
Loretta Guzman, owner of Bison Coffeehouse, said Friday that friends, family and neighbors volunteered to help clean up the broken glass and mess left by the criminals.
Bison Coffeehouse owner Loretta Guzman on the damages to her coffee shop after advertising an upcoming ‘Coffee with a Cop’ event in Portland, Oregon.
"I've hosted ‘Coffee with a Cop,’ maybe, like, three times in the past," Guzman told "Fox & Friends First."
She said she was approached to host again, but this time the feedback from customers was mostly negative when she advertised it on Instagram.
PORTLAND HAS BECOME THE HOME OF TENT-CITY CHOP SHOPS WITH A 26-YEAR HIGH IN CAR THEFTS
Portland, Oregon, Mayor Ted Wheeler speaks to the media at City Hall in Portland on Aug. 30, 2020. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
"I quit looking at it. People I know in the community were like, ‘thank you,’ and [asking] 'will you please do this?' And I was like, yes. And then I woke up to my neighbor calling me and letting me know, hey, all your windows are busted out," she told Carley Shimkus.
Guzman added that there was paint sprayed throughout the building earlier this week.
Even after her business was vandalized, Guzman hosted the event on Wednesday. Her friends and family supported her during the event.
"They said, 'you're still doing it, and we're coming to support you.' And so my friends in the community and my friends that had known me my whole life showed up, and they really rallied."
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The mayor of Portland, Democrat Ted Wheeler, said that the people who vandalized the business will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, including possible federal hate crime charges. Guzman is a Native American whose store is reportedly filled with tribal artwork and other symbols honoring her heritage.
Police said the masked thugs also discharged a fire extinguisher all over the store.
Business owners and residents in Portland have expressed concerns over the past few years as crime and homelessness have risen steadily.
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