{"id":388760,"date":"2026-07-07T03:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T03:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/388760\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T03:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T03:00:10","slug":"san-francisco-dem-activist-manny-yekutiel-accused-of-groping-ex-pal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/388760\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco Dem activist Manny Yekutiel accused of groping ex-pal"},"content":{"rendered":"

A well-connected San Francisco activist<\/a> turned political candidate is facing an allegation that he groped an acquaintance at a party in 2020.<\/p>\n

Manny Yekutiel, a cafe owner who\u2019s hosted top Dems like Kamala Harris<\/a>, Gov. Gavin Newsom and former First Lady Jill Biden at his Mission District hotspot Manny\u2019s Cafe, is facing the upsetting sexual assault claim as he campaigns to represent the famed Castro neighborhood on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. <\/p>\n

Brad Chapin, a city gardener, alleged that Yekutiel brazenly accosted him at a house party in 2020 \u2014 grabbing his testicles before insulting his physique in claims first detailed by the San Francisco Standard.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Kamala Harris and Manny Yekutiel smile for a selfie. Instagram\/@welcometomannys<\/p>\n

Chapin alleged that a \u201csweating\u201d Yekutiel approached him at a February 2020 party and painfully clenched his genitals \u201clike an animal,\u201d according to the report. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe grabbed me, and I was trying to get away. He wouldn\u2019t let me go,\u201d Chapin told The Standard. \u201cHe stuck one of his hands down my pants and grabbed me and was squeezing me and intentionally causing pain. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was bizarre. He literally had me by the testicles. It was intentionally sexually demeaning,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

San Francisco gardener Brad Chapin. X\/@brad_n_blanche<\/p>\n

Chapin, also a progressive political activist, reportedly told friends about the alleged incident after the party and filed a police report in April \u2014 even wearing a police-issued recording device while confronting Yekutiel about the alleged assault, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.<\/a> <\/p>\n

That confrontation did not produce any useful evidence, as Yekutiel denied the incident \u2014 and the investigation was marked \u201cinactive,\u201d the paper reported. <\/p>\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom attends a phone banking event at Manny\u2019s. AP<\/p>\n

Text messages Chapin sent to friends about the alleged incident were reviewed by the Chronicle and Standard. <\/p>\n

Yekutiel, a Los Angeles native, gained fame as an influential Democratic organizer known for hosting political and civic discussions, phone banks, watch parties and other community events at his popular cafe. <\/p>\n

The cafe became an essential stop for rising Democrats to help raise money and rally support in the progressive stronghold of San Francisco. <\/p>\n

Former First Lady Jill Biden attends an event at Manny\u2019s. Instagram\/@welcometomannys<\/p>\n

Sen. Alex Padilla embraces Yekutiel outside Manny\u2019s cafe. Instagram\/@welcometomannys<\/p>\n

Yekutiel\u2019s bid to represent the Castro neighborhood racked up a long list of endorsements from leading Dems like Sen. Cory Booker, Lt. Gov Eleni Kounalakis, Assemblymembers Matt Haney and Catherine Stefani, and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. <\/p>\n

But a handful of those supporters, including Attorney General Rob Bonta, Supervisor Myrna Melgar and Rep. Lateefah Simon, rescinded their endorsements after Chapin\u2019s allegation, The Standard reported. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cI take these allegations seriously, and I\u2019ve said directly to the person who made them that he deserves to be heard. But I know what\u2019s true for me: I didn\u2019t do this,\u201d Yekutiel told The Post in a text. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe police investigated and closed the matter without pursuing it further,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have gone out, I\u2019ve partied, and I\u2019ve been part of the city\u2019s queer nightlife scene, but I\u2019ve always tried to respect people\u2019s boundaries and treat people with respect as best I can,\u201d Yekutiel further stated in a social media video posted Monday afternoon. <\/p>\n

He alleged the public accusation was intended to \u201cassassinate\u201d his character. <\/p>\n

Chapin campaigns for transgender rights with the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club. X\/@harveymilkclub<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I will say is campaigns can get ugly, and I think that\u2019s part of what\u2019s happening here,\u201d Yekutiel wrote in the text message. <\/p>\n

The aspiring pol is running against Gary McCoy, a public health advocate and former top aide to Rep. Nancy Pelosi. <\/p>\n

Supervisor candidate Gary McCoy with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Instagram\/@garymccoysf<\/p>\n

Catie Stewart, McCoy\u2019s spokesperson, called any suggestion that his campaign had any role in Chapin coming forward \u201ctotally false\u201d and insulting to survivors of sexual assault. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth is that Brad\u2019s bravery in coming forward is remarkable, and Gary stands with him and believes him,\u201d Stewart said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A well-connected San Francisco activist turned political candidate is facing an allegation that he groped an acquaintance at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[184,457,266,13,101,103,102,2531,104,106,105,3586],"class_list":["post-388760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-bay-area","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-northern-california","tag-politics","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sexual-assault","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}