The group behind the First Friday demonstrations, the Denver Communists, now claims that Drip is an active meeting spot for neo-Nazis and Proud Boys members who have been pushing a "far-right activist" agenda under the guise of a Bible study group.
According to the Denver Communists, last month an "accidental spy" who had been working inside the cafe overheard a Bible study group talking about "guns, using the f-slur, complaining about 5G, and planning to protest an upcoming drag show." The group claims to have identified infamous neo-Nazi Russell Frankland as being part of a far-right activist gathering at the cafe on January 5, when the Denver Communists were protesting outside.
The coffee shop's owner, Jamie Sanchez, tells Westword he's put up with a lot of accusations and attacks, including graffiti and broken windows, but this latest charge takes the cake.
"This is crazy talk," he says. "We have Bible studies, yes; they happen weekly and are organized by customers who decide to come in and do it. I know there's local churches who do them, too, and they are definitely not organized by Nazis."
But they aren't organized by Sanchez, either, and he says he doesn't "check each person who comes in, obviously." Would he be okay with far-right figures meeting at Drip?
"Well, let me answer it like this: If I had the cure to a sickness, and someone came in that was sick, would I deny them the medicine?" he says. "If one of them was seeking change and the truth, I would never deny anybody access to the gospel if it's at a Bible study, if that's how we want to put it. If it was a communist who wanted to come in because they're confused, if it was a Nazi — anybody who wanted to come in because they were confused or they're seeking the truth or they're seeking hope or help or whatever it is — we wouldn't deny them that. Also, we don't run the Bible studies, anyway, so that's more of a question of like, if a customer came in and they're a Nazi or whatever they're calling them, and they say, 'Hey, can I do a Bible study here?' I mean, first of all, I wouldn't know they're a Nazi. But second of all, I'm not going to not let someone do a Bible study here."
Sanchez adds, "If there was someone in here, you know, speaking harm or planning harm or speaking about things that were inappropriate to that fashion, then they wouldn't be welcome here or I would ask them to disengage. That's not what this place is for. This is a place of blessed people. And the same as if any person of any type — because there's all kinds of evil out there — was to come in here and be talking about inappropriate things, I'm gonna protect my other customers and my staff by not allowing them to do that in here."
The first protests at Drip when it opened last June were inspired by the coffee shop's "anti-gay" mission statement. LGBTQ+ allies joined the Denver Communists in protesting Drip and its religious mission statement during the popular First Friday Art Walks on Santa Fe Drive. "Our goal is to drive them out," said protester Tyler Schillings at the time. "We want their business to not exist — because if they succeed, that [extends] their reach to put it in other places."
Under the revised "Who We Are" tab on its website, Drip's parent company — the nonprofit Recycle God's Love, which Sanchez founded in 2012 — discusses its "doctrine" regarding "homosexuality": "This organization holds that a homosexual lifestyle is contrary to God’s Word and purpose for humanity and is sin (I Timothy 1:10). ... Moreover, this organization is instructed to Love those living such lifestyles. 1 Cor. 6:9 We Believe that showing hate towards people in these communities is not the way Jesus would respond. Therefor [sic], although disagreeing with the lifestyle, we must show love."
Lately, the protests by the Denver Communists and LGBTQ+ supporters have focused on the "far-right" Bible studies and "newly forming far-right activist group," which they admittedly don't know if Sanchez is involved with.
"No matter what, they're serving them and providing a spot for them to gather," says Denver Communists leader James Rotten. "They've been actively hosting these meetings, which even if they are legitimate Bible studies, they're still neo-Nazis talking about bigoted views and claiming they're rooted in the Bible. Jamie, the owner of Drip, knows who these people are. We've been very clear, in, like, expressing to workers, who these people are in these Bible studies and what's being discussed. We've expressed it, and they've decided to still actively let them host these meetings. They're okay with it."
"Look, we can all go around accusing people of whatever we want, right? But that doesn't make it true," responds Sanchez. "And in this case, it impacts the business. It impacts helping the homeless in Denver, which is what we are doing here. Our purpose is to help the homeless community get back into functional life. That's what this cafe is all about. So really, when these people are coming and hurting what we do here by saying stuff like this online and protesting on the busiest days of the year for us — First Friday Art Walks — they're essentially taking up arms against homeless people, because that's why we're here."
Drip owner Jamie Sanchez says he is open to giving anyone a chance to participate in a Bible study — even neo-Nazis.
GiveSendGo/Jamie Sanchez
Rotten even raises the possibility that Drip may have been targeted by neo-Nazis and the Proud Boys as a way to troll the Denver Communists and other protesters who've been demonstrating at the cafe every month. "They know that their presence and their beliefs are further to the right of Drip, but they want to support their views and their mission statement," he suggests. "Even if it harms Drip, they don't care."
The Denver Communists claim that Frankland and Joshua Yeakel — who were both part of the Defend Denver group that threatened 9News reporter Jeremy Jojola back in 2019, inspiring him to get temporary protection orders against three individuals — are part of a new active club, Rocky Mountain Resistance, which is allegedly behind the Bible studies. Attempts to reach Rocky Mountain Resistance and Frankland were unsuccessful.
While accusations of the far-right meeting at Drip are new, the First Friday protests are getting old to Drip's owner. "I've tried to talk to them every time they come every month," Sanchez says. "We've tried different types of approaches to talk to them. They just have it out for us. They have no evidence of anything they're accusing us of. Do I want them to stop? Absolutely. Do they want to listen? No, they hate us because we're Christian. They hate us because we love Jesus. Like, that's not going to change for me — I'm not going to stop loving Jesus. As long as they hate me, they're probably going to continue this for my five-year lease."
Sanchez opened Drip Cafe to help support Project Revive, a program dedicated to creating jobs for the homeless community in Denver through Recycle God's Love. The main goal of the nonprofit is to "spread the Gospel and the love of Jesus Christ through helping the homeless community of Denver," he says.
Homeless individuals are interviewed and selected by Sanchez and the group for housing services, employment opportunities (including jobs at Drip), spiritual guidance, educational opportunities, money management skills and more.
"The sponsor residents are required to hold a job, stay sober, save portions of their paychecks, and show progression," reads a description on the Recycle God's Love website. "When sponsors finish the program they have a seamless transition back into society with the skills, abilities, and habits formed to prevent them from relapsing back into homelessness. All in the name of Jesus.”
Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, says she hasn't heard of Recycle God's Love or Project Revive, but has heard plenty about Drip Cafe.
Alderman also takes issue with Recycle God's Love's emphasis on "spiritual guidance" and the requirement to "hold a job" and "stay sober," she says.
Last summer, Sanchez launched a GiveSendGo fundraising campaign seeking operating expenses "so that no matter the damage done by the protests, [Drip Cafe] may weather the storm, in hopes that Christ may be glorified."
The campaign description continues: "The sidewalk outside the shop is consistently chalked with phrases like 'F*ck off bigots' and 'Anti-Queer Establishment' with arrows pointing toward the business. The shop front has been graffitied with spray paint saying 'Bigots F*ck Off.' Two shop windows have been broken. Megaphones are used to blast customers inside and outside the establishment from the sidewalk, and to yell 'boo' and 'shame' at anyone entering or leaving the Cafe. The people have blocked the doors to the establishment and stop almost every customer, telling them falsely that the Cafe is anti-gay, spreads homophobia, exploits homeless labor disguised as charity while also holding signs outside displaying the same phrasing."
According to Sanchez, any funds received through the campaign — which has reached over $20,000 of its $30,000 goal — will be used for operating expenses, such as rent and utilities for the duration of the lease, labor costs, food costs and material expenses, building maintenance due to vandalism, legal expenses if such situations arise, and security for First Friday events.
A DPD spokesperson confirms that at least two criminal incidents have been reported at Drip. One occurred on June 3, when police responded to a call of criminal mischief related to graffiti. The second happened on June 12 and resulted in a call for criminal mischief related to a broken window. Both cases are still under investigation, and no arrests have been made.
Homeless individuals are interviewed and selected by Sanchez and the group for housing services, employment opportunities (including jobs at Drip), spiritual guidance, educational opportunities, money management skills and more.
"The sponsor residents are required to hold a job, stay sober, save portions of their paychecks, and show progression," reads a description on the Recycle God's Love website. "When sponsors finish the program they have a seamless transition back into society with the skills, abilities, and habits formed to prevent them from relapsing back into homelessness. All in the name of Jesus.”
Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, says she hasn't heard of Recycle God's Love or Project Revive, but has heard plenty about Drip Cafe.
"It's unusual to say, 'We have strong LGBTQ feelings related to our religious views, but because we help people experiencing homelessness, it's okay,'" Alderman says. "We know a lot of members of the LGBTQ community experience homelessness, so it's very weird messaging to me."
Alderman also takes issue with Recycle God's Love's emphasis on "spiritual guidance" and the requirement to "hold a job" and "stay sober," she says.
"It sounds like they're providing access to a solid set of services that people experiencing homelessness need," Alderman admits. "But if they're requiring the people to be Christian or to learn about Christianity to access these services, requiring them to be sober, requiring them to be employed, that could be a real deterrent for the folks they're trying to reach. Everybody deserves access to housing and safety and security and health care, and once you're established in those areas, then we can work on the other issues that may have led to your homelessness or someone losing their way."
Last summer, Sanchez launched a GiveSendGo fundraising campaign seeking operating expenses "so that no matter the damage done by the protests, [Drip Cafe] may weather the storm, in hopes that Christ may be glorified."
Drip has fallen victim to graffiti attacks and broken windows in recent months.
GiveSendGo/Jamie Sanchez
The campaign description continues: "The sidewalk outside the shop is consistently chalked with phrases like 'F*ck off bigots' and 'Anti-Queer Establishment' with arrows pointing toward the business. The shop front has been graffitied with spray paint saying 'Bigots F*ck Off.' Two shop windows have been broken. Megaphones are used to blast customers inside and outside the establishment from the sidewalk, and to yell 'boo' and 'shame' at anyone entering or leaving the Cafe. The people have blocked the doors to the establishment and stop almost every customer, telling them falsely that the Cafe is anti-gay, spreads homophobia, exploits homeless labor disguised as charity while also holding signs outside displaying the same phrasing."
According to Sanchez, any funds received through the campaign — which has reached over $20,000 of its $30,000 goal — will be used for operating expenses, such as rent and utilities for the duration of the lease, labor costs, food costs and material expenses, building maintenance due to vandalism, legal expenses if such situations arise, and security for First Friday events.
A DPD spokesperson confirms that at least two criminal incidents have been reported at Drip. One occurred on June 3, when police responded to a call of criminal mischief related to graffiti. The second happened on June 12 and resulted in a call for criminal mischief related to a broken window. Both cases are still under investigation, and no arrests have been made.
"There have been some individuals with the Denver Communists group that I've had conversations with who talk about being hurt by the Christian church," Sanchez says. "I would say a majority of them actually mentioned that. And so that's something I can relate with. Like, I don't blame them for having a bad taste of Christianity in their mouth. But that doesn't mean that's who I am. That doesn't mean that's who Jesus is. That means that's what a man-made religion has done to Christianity. And so I'm totally like, 'I understand you're hurt.' You know, people get hurt, and they don't figure out how to solve that the same way as other people."
Sanchez believes he's been labeled "the bad guy" by the Communists and LGBTQ+ community "because of what has happened in their past," he says, citing his conversations with members. "I'm being put into a box with the rest of the Christians and, you know, whatever far-right people who were harming people in their group, and it's like, 'That's not me.'
"Them putting me in that box is like me putting them in a box with people with LGBTQ+ who have done terrible, terrible things. I don't put them all in one box; we're all individuals. We all have our own problems. And we all have our own blessings we can give other people, too." he continues. "So, yeah, I totally get and understand the fact that they hate me because of what Christianity is in their perspective. ... I wish I could tell them, 'That's not real Christianity. I'm not that person.' Because that's not what Jesus did. Jesus didn't hate on people. Jesus sat with sinners. You know, Jesus saved me from my terrible life. He doesn't hate people, and neither do I."
And he'll have a chance to show it tonight, when the Denver Communists plan to again demonstrate in front of Drip Cafe during the First Friday Art Walk.
