Idaho Coffee Shop Owner Kicks Out Students for Life Group, Compares Them to KKK

A coffee shop owner in Driggs, Idaho, told a pro-life advocacy group to leave his business, then compared their cause to the Ku Klux Klan when a member of the group pushed back on camera.

Video posted by Students for Life of America president Kristan Hawkins shows Wydaho Roasters Coffee House owner Jim Sheehan approaching a table where Hawkins and members of her organization were sitting. According to the footage, first reported by Fox News and Blaze Media, Sheehan tells the group, "I don't want this group meeting here."

A woman in the group responds that they're simply holding their first meeting. Sheehan replies, "I don't care! Go to the public library! This is my place of business."

The exchange escalates from there. Sheehan tells the group he worked to get pro-abortion-rights candidates on Idaho ballots and that he and his wife don't support the group's mission, adding, "it's our business, so we have that choice."

He then makes the comparison that set off the backlash: "It's like if the KKK asked to meet here, I would say no." When the woman asks directly, "So you're saying pro-lifers are like the KKK? Is that what you're saying?" Sheehan answers, "In my world, it's the same sort of concept."

Hawkins, who also leads Pro-Life Generation, wrote on social media that her group had done nothing to warrant ejection. "We paid for our food. We weren't protesting or disrupting anyone," she said, according to Blaze Media. "We were simply sitting together having a peaceful conversation. We were kicked out because we're pro-life and work to protect babies."

Hawkins also pointed out that Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger has a documented history of speaking to KKK-affiliated groups in the 1920s, a fact she used to argue the comparison Sheehan made was backwards.

What we know about the shop's political history

Blaze Media reported that Wydaho Roasters has hosted political events before, including a meet-and-greet for an Idaho candidate affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America and a vigil for Renée Good and Alex Pretti, described as left-wing activists. That reporting suggests the shop has functioned as a gathering space for left-leaning political activity in the past, which is relevant context for why Sheehan's decision to eject a conservative group drew sharper criticism online than a simple case of a business owner enforcing house rules might otherwise generate.

Following the viral clash, the shop's social media accounts appeared to go dark. Fox News noted the account lockdown happened after the video began circulating, though neither Sheehan nor the shop has issued a public statement responding to the footage as of this writing.

The legal reality, and the fair read on both sides

Idaho is not among the states with public accommodation laws that protect political viewpoint as a category, meaning a private business owner generally has the legal right to refuse service to a group over political disagreement, so long as he isn't discriminating on the basis of race, sex, religion, or another protected class. Sheehan owns the shop. He can decide who meets there.

Business owners choosing who uses their space for political meetings is not, by itself, unusual or illegal. Plenty of private venues decline to host groups whose politics clash with the owner's.

The legal right to refuse service doesn't require making the comparison Sheehan made. He chose that framing on camera, unprompted by anything beyond a follow-up question.

Hawkins' group says it paid for its order and wasn't protesting, disrupting other customers, or doing anything beyond sitting and talking. If that account holds up, and Sheehan hasn't disputed it, the shop's stated rationale wasn't disorderly conduct. It was ideological disagreement with a legal advocacy organization.

What's unresolved

Sheehan hasn't spoken publicly since the video went viral, and the shop's silence on social media leaves his side of the story incomplete. Whether he intends to clarify, apologize, or stand by the comparison is unknown. Students for Life has not indicated whether it plans further action beyond publicizing the video, and no legal complaint has been filed by either party as of Saturday, August 22, 2026.