The Armed Forces Brewing Company threatened legal action against its loudest critics last year, amid the closure of its Norfolk taphouse and reports that the company hadn’t paid some former employees and vendors. Now, the controversial brewer has filed a lawsuit alleging defamation.
The military-themed brewery moved to Norfolk from Maryland in 2023, lured by tax incentives from the state under Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Its neighbors criticized the company, its spokesman Robert O’Neill and its CEO Alan Beal for anti-LGBTQ+ comments and the misogynistic depiction of women in the brewery’s advertisements.
When the brewery closed its Norfolk headquarters last year, Beal blamed the “local woke mob.” Some people in the local community embraced the label and turned it into merchandise.
The lawsuit filed Monday names Craft Beer Professionals founder Andrew Coplon, his wife Stacie Coplon, Butch Bracknell, freelance photojournalist Zach Roberts and an unidentified Reddit user as defendants, according to what appeared to be a court filing attached to a press release from Armed Forces Brewing.
The lawsuit alleges they teamed up to destroy the brewery’s reputation by coordinating “media attack narratives,” using “intimidation tactics” to turn away potential business partners like food truck operators and “knowingly and maliciously tortiously interfering” with business contracts.
The suit alleges the defendants “villainized” the brewery as one with a culture of hate and intolerance and seeks $50 million in damages.
“This lawsuit is about coordinated and intentional economic destruction — not free speech,” Beal said in the press release.
Butch Bracknell declined to comment at this time, citing ongoing litigation. Andrew Coplon told WHRO he had nothing to add.
Financial filings show Armed Forces Brewery already was operating in the red when it arrived in Norfolk.
Multiple vendors sued the company for nonpayment before and after the Norfolk location closed. The brewery owed delinquent taxes, according to a notice posted on the brewery’s door December 2024. Former employees also reported not getting paid.
