Sarah Fendley, owner of Big City Coffee, was awarded $4 million after being bullied off Boise State University’s campus for her pro-police stance. Fendley had displayed a Thin Blue Line flag, which she has flown at other locations in support of law enforcement since 2016, after her police officer partner was shot and disabled during an attack by an escaped prisoner. In 2020, following the George Floyd riots, students at BSU protested her support for police, calling it unsupportive of people of color, and demanded her removal from campus. The backlash led to BSU terminating Big City Coffee’s contract after only four months of operation.

Fendley sued the university, claiming her First Amendment rights were violated. After a nine-day jury trial, she was awarded $3 million in damages for business losses and $1 million in punitive damages. Her attorney, Mike Roe, expressed gratitude for the outcome, telling Idaho Ed News, “The system worked, and Sarah got her day after all these years.” Fendley also voiced relief after the verdict, stating, “It’s been a long four years, and I’m just happy that it’s over,” according to Campus Reform.

The lawsuit highlighted Fendley’s support for The Thin Blue Line organization, which began after her partner lost his leg and a K9 unit died in the 2016 attack. Despite never facing issues at her other coffee shop locations, the Thin Blue Line flag sparked outrage at BSU. Students took to social media to condemn Big City Coffee’s presence on campus, with one student saying, “If you truly support your BIPOC peers, I hope you don’t go there,” as noted by The College Fix. The school quickly bowed to the pressure and severed ties with the coffee shop, triggering the legal battle.

Boise State University, however, plans to appeal the decision. Administrators stated they “respectfully but strongly disagree” with the jury’s ruling, maintaining that they were protecting the First Amendment rights of all involved, Campus Reform reported. The appeal will take the case to the Idaho Supreme Court.