A Starbucks Coffee location in Woodbury was covered in pro-Hamas graffiti and had eight windows and both glass doors shattered overnight Friday, workers at the store discovered when they opened Friday morning.
According to a statement from the Woodbury Police Department, employees arrived at approximately 4:20 a.m. to the vandalism. Woodbury Police arrived shortly after 4:30 a.m. and found glass broken and words spray-painted on the building.
According to photos from a Woodbury Facebook group and video taken by St. Paul Jewish Federation CEO David Kaplan, who lives in the area, graffiti included “Glory 2 the resistance,” “Intafada,” “Gaza” and a red, inverted triangle, which is a symbol first appeared in propaganda videos promoted by the al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas. One of the red triangles had the letters PFLP spray painted above it. The PFLP is the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a State Department-designated terrorist organization since 1997.
“We are actively investigating this case as a crime motivated by bias,” the Woodbury Police statement said. “These actions will not be tolerated, and we will charge those involved to the fullest extent possible once the investigation is complete.”
A statement from Starbucks spokesperson Sam Jefferies said that the store, at 1950 Donegal Drive, remained closed on Friday.
“The experience and well-being of our partners and customers is core to our operation and we continue to work with local authorities to support their ongoing investigation,” Jefferies said in an email.
The graffiti also included slurs aimed at the Minneapolis Police Department; the incident occurred hours after one officer was killed and another wounded in a shooting in the Whittier neighborhood.
“We are deeply disturbed to see the coupling of pro-Hamas and anti-MPD messages graffitied onto a Starbucks in Woodbury mere hours after Minneapolis police officer Jamal Mitchell was murdered in the line of duty,” said Steve Hunegs, the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, in a statement. “The pro-terror messages in Woodbury echo much of the extremist rhetoric and imagery at the University of Minnesota (“Glory 2 the resistance,” Intifada,” the inverted red triangle, and the antisemitic lie that Israel is responsible for American police violence). We call on law enforcement to investigate this as a hate crime and prosecute those responsible to demonstrate that hateful criminal behavior will not be tolerated.”
