US Election: Ponsonby bar criticised for throwing 'MAGA party'

Many people have taken to social media to ask for a "boycott" of Hoppers. Photo / Hoppers Bar

A Ponsonby bar has been criticised for throwing what one attendee says was a "MAGA party".

While out celebrating a friend's recent graduation, Coco Jouavel saw what she called a ute drive past on Ponsonby road outside SPQR with two large Donald Trump political flags.

After seeing the ute, Jouavel was sent some tweets from friends regarding a party which was being held at Hoppers Bar in Ponsonby.

We have Maga hat wearing white supremacists owning bars like Hoppers Garden Bar. We got, prominent hospo owners laughing about the gentrification of Ponsonby, in front of their Māori workers. This is a tiny slice of the racism that happens daily, in the industry.

— Chloe Ann-King (@GGrucilla) November 4, 2020

I was going to go and console myself by having a beer at Hoppers, the bar that's taken the place of Golden Dawn in Ponsonby. Then I'm told the owners are big Trump fans and having a MAGA-hat election party there right now. So I guess I'm never drinking there again then, huh?

— Damian Christie (@damianchristie) November 4, 2020

This is some amazing activism in response to The Trump party at Hoppers last night. It took such guts: #endracisminhospo pic.twitter.com/e9sGYzTUKu

— Chloe Ann-King (@GGrucilla) November 4, 2020

A group of friends and Jouavel were curious to see if the party attendees were, in fact, Trump supporters.

They decided they would go to the bar as it was not far from where they were and they wanted to see what was happening.

"We can not have this here we need to go and see what's going on," is what she thought at the time.

Although it was advertised as an election viewing event, Jouavel said it was a MAGA party.

Once Jouavel and a group of her friends made it into the bar and saw five MAGA hats she said she was "going through crazy emotions".

Jouavel is Fijian and West Indian and is a proud black woman who was deeply offended by the MAGA hats worn by people drinking in the bar.

"It makes you squirm" she told the Herald.

MAGA is the acronym for Donald Trump's infamous slogan "Make America Great Again".

Jouavel said she was threatened by one person wearing a MAGA hat.

While in the bar a man wearing a MAGA hat raised his hand at Jouavel.

While at Hoppers bar, Jouavel approached a black man who was wearing a MAGA hat and confronted him.

As a black woman, Jouavel said she was quite taken back when she saw this man, acknowledging the recent police brutality towards African American's in the United States.

After attending Hoppers bar, Coco Jouavel posted images online. Photo / Supplied

While recording her interactions with "MAGA supporters", Jouavel said she and her friends were escorted out of the bar.

She told the Herald other 'non trump supporters' were turned away from the bar.

Jouavel said "the MAGA hat is like the Swastika" and was a 'a symbol of divide'.

While at the bar, a friend of Jouavel told the Herald she did not see any Biden decorations but did noticed Trump figurines around the place.

Coco Jouavel felt threatened while at Hoppers bar in Auckland. Photo / Supplied

Hoppers Bar told the Herald the event "was merely the live streaming of the US elections in the background".

It was a request by "Hopper's good friends and celebrity patrons from LA in which were all respectfully Democrats".

"Unfortunately the evening was spoiled at the latter end by activists who were of the opinion it was solely a Trump event, and accused the small minority of Republicans as racist.

"As quickly as they came, they went."

"The bar was not pro Trump or Biden and was a relaxed environment the whole night," another attendee at the bar said.