Small business owner struggles with legal obstacles for her right to free speech
The owner of a cafe who was expelled from Boise State University because students spoke out against her support of law enforcement is continuing her legal battle with the university.
Sarah Fendley updated The College Fix ahead of an upcoming trial about the current status of the lawsuit she filed alleging that her free speech rights were violated by the university.
Fendley said she faced numerous legal obstacles, including multiple motions from BSU’s defense team to dismiss the lawsuit. Despite these challenges, she said she hopes the trial will finally allow her to present the facts and prove her side of the story.
She was forced to close Big City Coffee on the Boise State University campus in October 2020, as previously reported The College FixShe came across a meeting minute from the Inclusive Excellence Student Council on the BSU website that called her company “anti-black” and a threat to the safety of students of color.
“Her support of Thin Blue Line began in 2016 when her partner, a police officer, was Dispute with an escaped prisoner who lost a leg and was confined to a wheelchair,” The solution already reported. Since then, Fendley has placed Thin Blue Line flags at her other cafe locations, passionately supporting the work of emergency responders.
“We have survived three motions to dismiss and one for summary judgment from the BSU defense team and they have just filed … a motion for retrial and an alternative motion for leave to appeal,” Fendley said The solution in a recent email statement.
“I hope that there will actually be a trial,” she said. “My legal team has paved the way with first-rate legal work that has gotten us this far, and we plan to go to trial.”
Fendley said The solution that the upcoming trial will focus on her “claim for retaliation against the state of Boise under the First Amendment.” The trial is scheduled for this Wednesday, but if it doesn’t happen, Fendley plans to appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court.
Although court-ordered mediation took place in July, it was unsuccessful. Fendley stated that the school “declined to participate in good faith.”
The owner of the cafe expressed her frustration to The solution about the university’s handling of the case and stated:
As I write this, BSU has spent over a million dollars on external legal and PR efforts to destroy me and obscure the truth. They caved to a small group of students, the Inclusive Excellence Student Council, who were also paid W2 employees of the school, and they expelled me from campus for alleged racism for two reasons: I have a sticker on my door downtown, and second, I had a cop at home.
Those are the only facts – it is not a fact that I am anti-black, racist, that my cafe has been unsafe for people of color for over a decade, and that I have brought or would bring the wrong people to campus. That is not true and there is no truth and no record of any of that ever happening. That money should be spent on students. Instead, that tax money was spent on a lie.
She said the university blocked discovery requests and documents at every turn, and a judge limited the language her legal team could use in court, banning terms such as “activist,” “liberal” and “conservative.”
MORE: Boise State University overwhelmed by social justice ideology
In addition, Fendley said The solution BSU engaged several law firms and their in-house legal teams, resulting in costs of over $830,000, not including internal expenses.
Fendley also said the university even tried to discredit her attorney, Mike Roe, by portraying him as “misogynistic” and “violent.”
When asked about the impact of her case on free speech, Fendley expressed concerns about the potential consequences for others who might find themselves in a similar situation. “If that alone – a flag and a heart-shaped sticker with a blue line on my door – is enough to terminate, fire and remove you, then we are in big trouble.”
“Are people going to be terminated, fired, removed and vilified like I was for supporting women in sports? Or one political party over another? Where will it end?” Fendley asked.
Despite these obstacles, Fendley remains determined to tell her story and believes the evidence will support her claims. “I will succeed as long as my story is known, and whether I win or lose, I intend to get the story out there,” she said The solution.
The solution contacted Boise State University’s Legal Department by email and phone on August 13 and 16, requesting the official reason for Big City Coffee’s removal from campus and the university’s response to allegations of obstruction of justice.
At the time of the incident, Cambree Kanala and Alyssa Wainaina were members of the Inclusive Excellence Student Council. The solution On August 13, they reached out to us via email and Instagram message, asking about their reasoning for removing the cafe from campus, whether they would have handled the situation differently in hindsight, and whether Fendley should be allowed back on campus.
The solution has not received any response from the BSU or the students concerned.
However, Sherry Squires, spokeswoman for Boise State University, explained the circumstances behind Big City Coffee’s decision to leave campus to The College Fix in 2020. “After some students began to speak out against the owner’s personal beliefs, we explained that we could not violate the First Amendment rights of anyone on campus,” Squires explained. “The owner then requested to be released from the contract. We agreed to the owner’s request.”
MORE: Coffee shop owner intimidated by Boise State demands $10 million from university
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