If their outward gender presentation didn't match their ID, they would be arrested. One form of LAPD's routine harassment included targeting well-known LGBTQ spaces and demanding identification from gender non-conforming patrons. Nestled in between two gay bars, the Harold's and the Waldorf, the café was one of few establishments in the city to welcome trans customers at a time when many gay and lesbian bars turned them away in fear of LAPD targeting and persecuting transgender and gender non-conforming Angelenos. Cooper Do-nuts was a 24-hour café popular among the gay, lesbian and trans communities during the 1950s and '60s.
