A Missouri-based conservative political action committee has canceled a fundraiser featuring Donald Trump Jr. after a payment processor owned by the nation’s largest bank reportedly canceled its contract with the group, refunded $30,000 in ticket sales, then said it had made a mistake and reversed its decision.
The Defense of Liberty PAC event was scheduled for December 3 in St. Charles, a suburb of St. Louis. The organization was expecting approximately 3,000 people to attend. An organizer said tickets ranged from $70 to $250 and included a $500 per person pre-event with Trump Jr.
According to the Missouri Independent, WePay, a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, told the PAC last week that it was cutting ties and would not do business with the group in the future, citing a terms of service violation.
A copy of a message sent to the PAC that was forwarded to The Independent reportedly said, in part, “Per our terms of service, we are unable to process for hate, violence, racial intolerance, terrorism, the financial exploitation of a crime, or item or activities that encourage, promote, facilitate, or instruct others regarding the same.”
The outlet reported, “On Wednesday night, after The Independent reported that the event was canceled and the reason, a spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase wrote in an email that the decision had been a mistake.”
“After further review, we determined that this organization didn’t violate terms of service, and we are reaching out to the client to discuss reinstating the account,” the statement said. “To be clear, we have never and would never close an account due to a client’s political affiliation.”
Former state Rep. Paul Curtman, a Republican who founded the PAC, told The Independent that even though WePay reversed course, the disruption would still result in the event being canceled and rescheduled. Organizers are considering dates in February.
The group’s website says the gathering is “being rescheduled due to leftist attempts to cancel us.”
State Sen. Bill Eigel, a Republican who is also involved with the Defense of Liberty PAC, tweeted on Thursday: “The damage is done and we will be unable to complete the event on 3 December due to the loss of ticket selling days. Too little too late from @jpmorgan. We will not let the #cancelculture silence us and @DonaldJTrumpJr – this fight is just beginning.”
The damage is done and we will be unable to complete the event on 3 December due to the loss of ticket selling days. Too little too late from @jpmorgan. We will not let the #cancelculture silence us and @DonaldJTrumpJr —this fight is just beginning. #moleg https://t.co/ZyUwcWyhWQ
— William Eigel (@BillEigel) November 18, 2021
The Independent reported, “Chase is facing other fallout from the controversy,” and:
State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick on Thursday issued a news release that the reversal came after he wrote a letter to Chase CEO Jamie Dimon that the state will not do business with the bank “or any other financial institution that discriminates against customers based on mainstream political ideology so long as that discrimination continues.”
Chase is not currently holding any state deposits, Fitzpatrick wrote in a text message to The Independent. …
And U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley sent a letter Thursday to Dimon demanding “a full accounting” of how the decision was made and why Defense of Liberty PAC was associated with hate, violence, racism or terrorism.
“If your goal was to use the power of your company to stealth-cancel a conservative event, then you succeeded—to the detriment of the people of Missouri,” Hawley wrote.
The Defense of Liberty PAC held its annual dinner in August and featured The Daily Wire’s Candace Owens as the headliner.