Cape Cod restaurant reports threats, hoax 911 call after hosting Republican fundraiser

A Cape Cod restaurateur says he’s found himself at the center of a “horrific” political firestorm and is facing a wave of online harassment after he hosted a fundraiser for two Republican candidates earlier this month.

Ed Medeiros, owner of Montano’s Restaurant in Truro, said he’s received a slew of threatening messages and lost more than half of his business since the Sept. 16 fundraiser for gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue and congressional candidate Tyler Macallister. 

“People have been bashing me. People stopped coming. They’ve been saying really bad things, like, ‘I hope your restaurant burns down,’” said Medeiros, who bought Montano’s in 2024. 

“I’ve had a couple of personal threats by different people: ‘I’ll come down there and see you anytime,’” he added. “I said, ‘Oh, OK, let me know when, and I’ll be there.’ Because obviously, I’m not going to run away from people that are toxic.”

When he agreed to host the fundraiser months ago, Medeiros said he believed the event would help bolster foot traffic during a quieter time for businesses on the Cape.

An event flyer posted to Montano’s Facebook page featured a call for donations to Macallister, the Republican challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Keating for the congressional district that includes Cape Cod. But in a comment below the post, Montano’s clarified that “hosting a private event is not an endorsement of the views or beliefs of the individuals or organizations who reserve our space.” 

Medeiros, who describes himself as an “inclusive individual,” was also emphatic that he did not endorse Minogue or Macallister by agreeing to host the fundraiser. 

“Politics are politics, but I’m a restaurant,” he explained. “You’re not going to say ‘no’ to someone saying, ‘Hey, I’m bringing 80 people over to spend money at your restaurant. What do you say?’”

On Sept. 18, two days after the fundraiser, Medeiros said Montano’s Friday night dinner rush was upended by a hoax 911 call about a missing person in the woods behind the restaurant. The Truro Police Department said investigators deemed the missing person report unfounded following an “extensive search” that drew first responders from several agencies.

Truro police did not respond to a request for comment on whether the incident was connected to the harassment Montano’s has reported, nor has the department said whether it is investigating any alleged threats made to the restaurant. But, according to Medeiros, the damage was already done; the massive search effort on Sept. 18 meant that his restaurant was still swarming with emergency crews shortly before it opened for dinner service.

“I winded [sic] up doing less than half of what I normally do on a Friday night, and then that whole weekend was a bust and we’ve been down more than 50 percent of what we normally do since,” he said of the business impact.

In the meantime, Medeiros said some of his employees are afraid to go to work, and he worries about his own family’s safety in and around Truro. There’s also the bottom line to consider: according to Medeiros, the revenue Montano’s brings in this fall will help the restaurant stay open through the winter, when Cape tourism dies down and many businesses close for the season. 

“I’m concerned that if we don’t do the numbers in September, October, November, and December, it’ll be hard for me to stay open in the winter,” he said. “It really will, because that’s the money that carries us through the winter.”

The restaurant’s social media comments have lately skewed supportive, and Medeiros is hopeful that more of those would-be patrons stop in for a meal. Montano’s has also seen support from prominent Bay State Republicans, including U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton and Massachusetts Republican Party Chairwoman Amy Carnevale. 

“What happened to Montano’s is not politics. It is intimidation of a small business, and it is a dangerous waste of emergency resources,” Deaton said in a statement.

“In Massachusetts, we settle disagreements by debating and voting, not by trying to shut down someone’s business,” Deaton continued. “Families across this state are struggling with the cost of housing, energy, and groceries. That’s what we should be debating: real policy to help working families get ahead, not hate and division that tear communities apart.”

Carnevale said MassGOP is calling for a full investigation into the missing person report and alleged threats against Montano’s. 

“Charge the people who did this. And every elected official who lectures the country about democracy should say, without hedging, that a small business may host any lawful political event without being punished for it,” she said. “If that principle only applies when Democrats are in the room, it is not a principle. It is a racket.”

Weighing in on social media, Minogue argued Montano’s plight is “the result of [Gov.] Maura Healey stoking division and fear.”

“Why hate people for supporting the process of democracy?” he demanded.

“The hate is out of control,” Medeiros agreed. “I said, ‘Look, I’m a restaurant owner. If someone from the Democratic Party or Maura Healey called and said she wanted to hold something there, of course I would do it, because I’m a business. I’m not going to say ‘no’ to someone coming in and hosting at my restaurant.”

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between. She has been covering the Lindsay Clancy murder case since January 2023.