Backlash grows over Asheville kava bar owner’s racist online links

Moon & Root Kava Bar/Apothecary opened at 51 College St. in downtown Asheville on May 1, but the launch has quickly become a test of community trust rather than a routine business debut. Owner Lewis Easton Cantwell, 40, of Canton, is now facing renewed criticism after social media users highlighted his apparent follows and interactions with racist online accounts.

The controversy lands on top of Cantwell’s felony conviction tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Court records show he pleaded guilty on March 24, 2022, to obstructing, impeding or interfering with law enforcement officers during the attack. The U.S. Department of Justice said he was sentenced on December 6, 2022, to five months in prison, 36 months of supervised release and $2,000 in restitution.

According to the Justice Department, Cantwell was arrested in Asheville on February 18, 2021. Prosecutors said he yelled for rioters to “get the door open” and for “fresh patriots to the front,” language that has kept his name tied to one of the most politically charged criminal cases from the Capitol attack. In the first 14 months after Jan. 6, the Justice Department said more than 775 people were arrested in nearly all 50 states in connection with the attack.

Cantwell has said he is trying to rebuild his life and believes people can change and grow after making mistakes. In the newer backlash, he also said he was not involved with Trump, right-wing groups, activism or any political movement. Even so, the scrutiny around his online activity has put the business under a cloud just as it tries to establish itself in one of Asheville’s most visible commercial corridors.

That matters in downtown Asheville, where a storefront opening can become a broader referendum on neighborhood identity, business ethics and public accountability. For Moon & Root, the immediate question is no longer just whether the kava bar can draw customers, but whether Cantwell’s history and his online associations will limit traffic, complicate hiring and keep the block at 51 College St. in the middle of a wider civic dispute.