Publix Distances Itself From Heiress Julie Jenkins Fancelli After Report of Jan. 6 Rally Funding
Publix #Publix
Supermarket chain Publix is seemingly trying to distance itself from heiress Julie Jenkins Fancelli, who is one of Publix’s founder George W. Jenkins’ seven children, following reports that she was a key funder in the January 6 rally, which culminated in rioters storming the United States Capitol.
According to a Wall Street Journal article published Saturday morning, Fancelli “paid for the lion’s share of the roughly $500,000 rally at the Ellipse,” which former President Donald Trump spoke at. She reportedly contributed about $300,000 to the rally, while far-right web show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones pitched in about $50,000. The WSJ report says that Fancelli had reached out to Jones about contributing and that the heiress also had a hand in selecting organizers such as fundraising official Caroline Wren.
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Following the article’s publication, some people called on Publix for a response to the heiress’ reported involvement. From the @PublixHelps account on Twitter, the company has distanced itself from Fancelli.
The company’s official response, received by Newsweek, said that Fancelli isn’t an employee or a representative for the chain. It also denounced the violence at the Capitol. Publix’s statement can be found reads:
Mrs. Fancelli is not an employee of Publix Super Markets, and is neither involved in our business operations, nor does she represent the company in any way. We cannot comment on Mrs. Fancelli’s actions.
The violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was a national tragedy. The deplorable actions that occurred that day do not represent the values, work or opinions of Publix Super Markets.
Publix has been responding to tweets from disgruntled customers with all or part of the above statement.
Despite Publix attempting to distance itself from the heiress, some people on Twitter have still called for a boycott. “[P]rofits from this supermarket chain were used to fund Trump’s illegal & seditionist efforts at stealing the election & overthrowing our Constitutional Democracy,” reads one tweet that’s been shared over 1,000 times.
Rick Wilson, a co-founder of the conservative anti-Trump PAC the Lincoln Project, also tweeted that it was “not a good look” for the supermarket chain.
Despite Publix distancing itself from Fancelli, some people still sought answers as to whether she received money from the chain or if she would eventually become an owner of Publix. One individual asked whether she was involved in the ownership structure.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Fancelli had made large donations to Trump’s re-election efforts, giving $980,000 to the former president and the Republican party.
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