Publix grocery chain faces boycotts after report claims heiress funded Trump Capitol rally with Alex Jones

Grocery store chain Publix has found itself the subject of controversy after a new report revealed that the heiress to the firm put thousands into the Donald Trump rally that preceded the US Capitol riot on January 6.

InfoWars founder Alex Jones reportedly arranged for Julie Fancelli, daughter of Publix founder George W. Jenkins, to donate $300,000 to Trump’s campaign, with a large portion of those funds going into his controversial rally on January 6. Jones was one of multiple conservative figures who attended and helped organize the rally. 

The $300,000 was part of nearly $1 million donated by Fancelli to Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party in 2020. Fancelli’s older sister, Carol Barnett Jenkins, has also contributed to Republican candidates, including the campaigns of David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the Georgia runoff elections.

On the day of the rally, Jones alluded to a major donor who paid for a large portion of the event, which was likely Fancelli.

“Thank God a donor came in and paid like 80 percent of it,” he said. “Because it cost close to half a million dollars, with all the equipment, all the stages and the rest of it. Port-a-Potties, you name it.”

Publix has distanced itself from Fancelli, releasing a statement claiming she has no direct involvement with the company.

“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 statement reads. 

The company goes on to call the US Capitol riot a “national tragedy” and says the “deplorable actions” do not “represent the values, work or opinions of Publix Super Markets.”

Fancelli’s non-involvement in the company is but a pesky detail for Trump critics on social media, who have called for a boycott of the entire corporation.

“Publix was in on it? Life-changing subs, but to hell with them,” Atlantic writer Jemele Hill, who has referred to Trump as a “white supremacist,” tweeted.

Others claimed supporting the store equates to funding “domestic terrorism” – not only for Fancelli’s actions, but for past donations from Publix to Republicans supportive of Trump.

At Trump’s January rally, he continued to push voter fraud allegations and told the crowd of thousands to “fight like hell,” one of multiple comments lawmakers have used to argue he is partially responsible for the Capitol being stormed by supporters only hours later. The riot in the Capitol led to five deaths, including one police officer. 

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