Lawyers for Armed Forces Brewing Co., the controversial military-themed brewery that closed its Norfolk headquarters earlier this year, sent five critics cease-and-desist letters threatening legal action for comments about the company.
Armed Forces Brewing claims that recipients took part “in a coordinated effort with others to willfully and maliciously injure AFBC’s business, trade and reputation,” according to a copy of the letter provided by AFBC’s attorney Nathan Hernandez.
That includes allegedly publishing defamatory statements, interfering with business relationships and "intimidating AFBC customers” and the brewery’s supporters.
“Ultimately, the tactics you and your co-conspirators engaged in prevented AFBC from being able to run a successful business in Norfolk,” the letter says.
CEO Alan Beale has claimed for months in public statements, social media posts and messages to investors that a “local woke mob” was to blame for the brewery’s closure.
The brewer endured community pushback when it relocated to Norfolk, though financial filings show Armed Forces Brewing was struggling for years before it arrived in Virginia.
The letter also alleges the critics have tried to torpedo the brewery’s relocation. Beale told investors in May that AFBC might move its headquarters to Florida or Texas, information that was supposed to stay out of the public eye.
“It appears your plan to harm AFBC’s business may not be limited to its operations in Virginia,” the letter says, though it goes on to admit AFBC doesn’t know exactly who leaked the information.
“The main concern is to ensure that there is not interference with the company's future business plans,” Hernandez told WHRO.
Hernandez said the letter also includes a “litigation hold notice” to let the residents know AFBC may take legal action against them for their statements and actions.
Hernandez cited incidents like people petitioning Grace O’ Malley’s pub downtown to stop carrying AFBC’s beer on tap and contacting a local YMCA “trying to persuade them to end their contractual relationship” with AFCB to provide food donations at Thanksgiving.
The letters targeted some of the brewery’s most vocal critics who spoke out online and at public meetings.
Andrew Coplon, who runs a craft beer trade group, confirmed he received the letter but declined to comment. Zach Roberts, a resident and member of the Park Place Civic League, also confirmed he’d received a letter. A version of the letter addressed to “Citizens for a Better Norfolk,” an ad-hoc group formed to oppose AFBC, was posted online, which also named Robert “Butch” Bracknell. Bracknell, a lawyer, declined to comment or confirm to WHRO whether he received a letter.
The brewery was forcibly closed in March after just over a year of operation. The city's treasurer's office locked the business’s doors because it owed tens of thousands of dollars in taxes.
Vendors and contractors sued AFBC before and after it closed its Norfolk location, saying the brewery never paid them. Former employees have alleged the same.
AFBC was lured to Virginia by Gov. Glenn Youngkin with the promise of performance grants it was never paid and ultimately never even requested. As the brewery sought approvals to take over the former O’Connor Brewing location in Ghent in 2023, opponents took aim at the company’s marketing and its spokesman, former Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill. Some opponents were particularly concerned about O’Neill’s statements about the LGBTQ community.
O’Neill, for instance, appeared on Fox Business to lambast the Navy’s use of a drag queen in recruitment efforts. Critics worried the brewery would foster a transphobic, homophobic and misogynistic atmosphere in a neighborhood known for its embrace of the gay community.
CEO Beale butted heads with critics at neighborhood meetings, but maintained that anyone would be welcome at the brewery.
More than 800 messages opposing the business flooded Norfolk’s planning commission, which recommended the city council deny AFBC’s permits. The council ultimately overrode the planning commission and granted the permits, with council member Tommy Smigiel saying at the time to “let the market decide their fate.”
In the wake of the closing, several critics produced “Local Woke Mob” merchandise, running with the moniker Beale gave Armed Forces Brewery opponents.
After its departure from Norfolk, AFBC unsuccessfully tried to raise $1.7 million from investors. The effort raised just $268,000. The company hasn’t publicly confirmed any plans for its relocation.
NOTE: Freelance journalist Zach Roberts has previously done paid work for WHRO News. He has never covered Armed Forces Brewing Company for WHRO.
