Publix Faces Boycott Calls Over Heiress Donations to Capitol Trump Rally

Calls to boycott the Publix have sprung up after the grocery chain's heiress, Julie Jenkins Fancelli, was reported of contributing money for the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the Capitol riot.

The Wall Street Journal has identified Fancelli as the top donor to the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally in Washington D.C. that preceded the deadly storming of the Capitol.

Citing the Journal, a Business Insider report said Fancelli's donation was facilitated by the far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who donated $50,000 to the rally.

The heiress to the Southern grocery empire has allegedly donated millions of dollars to Republican causes and candidates. Julie Jenkins Fancelli reportedly contributed $300,000 of the roughly $500,000 total raised for former President Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 30.

The Guardian reported that many loyal customers plan to boycott Publix as they were turned off to Fancelli's contribution to the rally.

Many netizens had expressed outrage and claimed betrayal over Fancelli's donation that led to the trending of the hashtag #BoycottPublix on Monday.

Julie Jenkins Fancelli's Donation and Publix

Corporations raced to cut ties with Trump and end donations to political candidates who supported Trump's attempt to overturn his reelection loss.

One Publix's consumer, Wendy Mize, said she was joining others in a boycott of the Florida-based grocery chain that operates over 1,200 across the seven south-eastern estates, The Guardian reported.

Mize said it was the last straw, noting that the insurrection at the Capitol with individuals dressed as Vikings on the Senate floor and an image of a police officer's head being crushed was not "normal."

Mize added that she knew that Publix is a private company, and it is their business how they want to contribute their money. However, she noted that it's also her right "to decide where I want to spend my dollars."

Publix has tried to distance itself from Fancelli. In a statement on Jan. 30, which is the company's sole comment about Fancelli, the firm said that Julie Jenkins 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," Publix added as reported by Patch. The company further noted that they could not comment on Fancelli's actions.

Julie Jenkins Fancelli is still the president of the George Jenkins Foundation Inc., which is a nonprofit named after Publix's founder that Publix said was not affiliated with the grocery chain.

The company has already come under scrutiny after Gov. Ron DeSantis awarded the chain an exclusive contract for vaccine distribution. This was after the Publix political action committee (PAC) donated $100,000 to his campaign.

A spokeswoman for DeSantis noted that any implication that the contract was rewarded to Publix because of the said donation was "baseless and ridiculous." The governor's office then added other retailers, including Walmart and Winn Dixie, as one of the approved distribution chains.

Meanwhile, leaders from predominantly Black communities throughout the state also criticized the contract, saying it deprived many Black Floridians of the opportunity to get vaccinated.

Publix also reportedly failed to enforce in-store mask-wearing in some areas of the state. The firm is defending a damaging wrongful death lawsuit from the family of an employee in Miami who died of COVID-19 complications after being told not to wear a mask.

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