Idaho coffee shop owner wins $4 million in free speech lawsuit after Boise State targeted pro-police messaging

Idaho-based Big City Coffee was awarded $3 million in damages after a unanimous jury decision against several previous Boise State University (BSU) administrators and $1 million in additional punitive damages. The case involved actions taken by the administrators in their personal capacities that targeted the company’s owner, Sarah Jo Fendley, for her pro-police messaging.

Fendley is the owner of Big City Coffee and won the legal battle against two ex-BSU administrators, Alicia Estey and Leslie Webb. Estey was BSU’s Vice President for University Affairs and Chief of Staff, while Webb was the Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, per the Idaho Statesman.



During the dispute, Big City Coffee had multiple locations with one newer spot on BSU’s campus. The fight between the parties began when Fendley displayed a “Thin Blue Line” flag at an off-campus shop location. Her fiancé at the time was a Boise police officer who had been shot in the line of duty in 2016. The Thin Blue Line flag became a point of political tension following the George Floyd riots and protests of 2020. Fendley argued that pressure from university administrators as well as students critical of her support for law enforcement led to her closing the campus location.

Fendley filed a $10 million legal claim against the university, BSU President Marlene Tromp, Vice President for Equity Initiatives Francisco Salinas, as well as Estey and Webb in 2021, accusing them of causing emotional damages and violating her right to free speech. Ada County District Judge Cynthia Lee-Wallace dismissed the case against BSU, Tromp, and Salinas because of insufficient evidence. However, she allowed the legal battle to proceed with Estey and Webb. Lee-Wallace noted that there were unresolved questions surrounding the two administrators and if they retaliated against Fendley for expressing her views online.

Lawyers for the coffee shop owner argued that Estey and Webb conspired to retaliate against Fendley, forcing the closure of her BSU location shortly after it opened. The two administrators argued the decision to close the shop was the choice of Fendley.

The jury sided with Fendley earlier in September, awarding her $3 million to cover the damage to her reputation, emotional and mental distress, personal humiliation, and business losses with an additional $1 million in punitive damages.

“I’m thankful that the truth finally came out and grateful to the jury for their time and effort,” Fendley said after the verdict, per the Idaho Dispatch. “It’s been a long four years, and I’m just happy that it’s over.”

Ron Nate, President of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, praised the verdict, saying, “I am thrilled at the outcome of this trial. This verdict not only is a big win for free speech and the 1st Amendment, but it is also a warning to other institutions who would use dirty tactics to promote a woke agenda and create a cancel culture on their campuses.”

Attorneys for Webb and Estey said they plan to appeal the decision to the Idaho Supreme Court, “We respectfully but strongly disagree with today’s verdict and plan to appeal. We were honoring the First Amendment rights of all involved.”