- People boycott Publix after heiress Julie Jenkins Fancelli was unmasked as a top donor for the January 6 protest.
- Fancelli is not an employee of Publix, but will inherit from the $ 8.8 billion fortune family.
- Fancelli raised the bulk of the total of about $ 500,000 raised for the “Stop the Steal” march, the WSJ reported.
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People are calling for a boycott of Publix after the Wall Street Journal unveiled an heir to the Southern grocery empire as the biggest donor to the Trump rally that led to the January 6 riots in the Capitol.
Julie Jenkins Fancelli, heiress of the founding family Publix’s nearly $ 9 billion, has previously donated millions to Republican affairs and candidates. On January 30, the WSJ reported that Fancelli had contributed $ 300,000 out of the approximately $ 500,000 total raised for Trump’s now infamous “Stop the Steal” march.
Publix has a dedicated fanbase, but Fancelli’s contribution to the protest was the last straw for many loyal customers, The Guardian reported on Monday. On Monday, the hashtag #BoycottPublix took to Twitter, with many users expressing outrage, claiming they had betrayed Fancelli’s donation.
—Bob South Florida Water Man (@WaterDean) 15 February 2021
—Jordan Knash 🌊🌊🌊⚖️ # ShutItDown (@JordanKnash) 15 February 2021
—Neri Beats (@NeriBeats) 15 February 2021
Fancelli’s donation was facilitated by far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who himself donated $ 50,000 to the rally that led to the deaths of five people, the Journal reported.
After the riots, corporations rushed to sever ties with former President Trump and to end donations to political candidates who supported Trump’s attempt to overthrow the election.
Following the publication of the WSJ article, Publix quickly distanced itself from Fancelli in a Twitter statement, saying he did not employ her.
—Publix (@Publix) 31 January 2021
Fancelli is still president of the George Jenkins Foundation, Inc., the founder of Publix, George Jenkins, which is not affiliated with the grocery chain. Since the statement was posted on January 30, the Publix Twitter account – which was previously posted once a day – has been unusually quiet.
This is not the first time that Publix has raised controversy over political donations. It came under fire after the Florida government, Ron DeSantis, awarded the chain an exclusive contract for the distribution of vaccines. This followed after the Publix PAC donated $ 100,000 to its campaign – a DeSantis spokesman said the implication that the contract was a reward for the donation was “unfounded and ridiculous” according to the Lakeland Ledger.
Leaders of predominantly black communities across the state also criticized the contract, saying it deprived many black Floridians of the chance to be vaccinated.