A little-known Trump supporter and billionaire heiress of Publix is facing a federal investigation for her alleged role in financing the coordinated efforts to storm the U.S. Capitol.
According to The Washington Post, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riots has indicated that an investigative probe is being focused on Julie Fancelli —the 72-year-old daughter of Publix grocery store chain founder, George W. Jenkins— and her financial influence which contributed to the Capitol riots coming to fruition.
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Fancelli, who reportedly lives a relatively quiet life in Florida, is said to have quietly donated a total of $650,000 to three different right-wing organizations that participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Initially, investigators calculated approximately $300,000 that Fancelli allegedly wired to the organizations. But, now that suspected amount has more than doubled. The timeline of her donations has also been revealed:
- December 29, 2020 - Women for America First, a non-profit that helped organize the "Stop the Steal" rally, received $300,000 from Fancelli.
- On the same day, she allegedly sent $150,000 to the Republican Attorneys General Association, an organization that covered the cost of a robocall encouraging Trump supporters to "call on Congress to stop the steal."
- The State Tea Party Express also received $200,000 that day, according to tax filings from the group that day, per a report published by Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington.
During the time leading up to the "Stop the Steal" rally and the insurrection, Fancelli reportedly shared reports from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones with her friends and family members. One day before Fancelli's donations were wired out, Jones discussed the baseless claims of election fraud during one of his Infowars segments.
RELATED: Reclusive Publix heiress became obsessed with Alex Jones — and wound up funding Jan. 6
"I don't want Trump to step down," Jones said during a segment of his online platform Infowars platform on Dec. 28. "Either by overturning the election and showing it's a fraud and getting Congress to act on Jan. 6 to not certify for Biden, or whether we end up impeaching Joe Biden or getting him arrested as a Chi-Com agent, one way or another, he will be removed."
In wake of the reports of Fancelli's donations, Publix has released a statement to The Washington Post addressing the situation. "We are deeply troubled by Ms. Fancelli's involvement in the events that led to the tragic attack on the Capitol on January 6," Publix said.
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