Customers Boycott Publix After Heiress Gave $300K To Trump Rally

LAKELAND, FL — Publix heiress Julie Jenkins Fancelli donated $300,000 to help pay for the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the riot at the U.S. Capitol, which has led some customers to boycott the popular grocery chain, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Fancelli, who is the daughter of Publix founder George Jenkins, donated more than $980,000 to former President Donald Trump's 2020 re-election campaign and the Republican Party, the Wall Street Journal reported.

According to USA Today, she provided the majority of the funds for the $500,000 rally in front of the White House. During and after that rally, some in the crowd mobilized to storm the Capitol, which led to five deaths, a lockdown for members of Congress and Trump's second impeachment.

Fancelli's donation was facilitated by far-right radio show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones of InfoWars, the Journal reported.

As of Saturday, the hashtag #BoycottPublix trended across Twitter, where customers posted they would discontinue their shopping at Publix and switch to Target and other grocery store chains.

Twitter user, Magical Goddess in Florida tweeted:

Another Twitter user Geoffrey Martin tweeted:

My family is boycotting Publix indefinitely. #BoycottPublix
— Geoffrey Martin (@geoffmartin1) January" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/geoffmarti... 30, 2021

Publix responded in a tweet that said, "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 partnered with the state of Florida in January to provide vaccinations at pharmacy locations across the state. The Miami New Times reported the grocery store chain gave $100,000 to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political committee in December.

DeSantis later said the state would partner with Publix to offer COVID-19 vaccinations. The Orlando Sentinel said that DeSantis and Publix denied the partnership had any connection to the political donations.

Publix is headquartered in Lakeland and has stores in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Fancelli also owns a home in Lakeland.