COLUMBIA, Mo. — Conservatives railed against JPMorgan Chase on Thursday after a subsidiary pulled out of a business deal related to a Missouri political fundraiser that was to feature Donald Trump Jr.
Missouri political action committee Defense of Liberty was using online payment company WePay for ticketing for the Dec. 3 event in the suburban St. Louis city of St. Charles.
But state Sen. Bill Eigel, a co-host, said WePay cut off services to Defense of Liberty on Nov. 9.
According to a screenshot of an email provided by Eigel, WePay wrote that the PAC violated its terms of service against "hate, violence, racial intolerance, terrorism, the financial exploitation of a crime" or encouraging that behavior.
Chase representatives didn't respond to Associated Press questions seeking more information on why WePay stated Defense of Liberty violated that policy.
After another organizer on Tuesday announced that the event would be canceled, Chase reversed course.
"After further review, we determined that this organization didn't violate the terms of service, and we are reaching out to the client to discuss reinstating the account," a Chase spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. "To be clear, we have never and would never close an account due to a client's political affiliation."
Eigel said the PAC's account was still canceled as of Thursday afternoon. He wants to reschedule the event for a later date.
"The damage is done, no matter what happens moving forward," Eigel said.
Republicans are using the dispute as an example of "cancel culture" attacking conservatives.
Attorney General Eric Schmitt, who is in a crowded Republican primary for U.S. Senate, on Thursday tweeted that "this Cancel Culture nonsense has to stop." Schmitt, as well as U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, each wrote letters to J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon questioning the decision.
"Missouri will not tolerate a powerful bank discriminating against political views with which it disagrees," Schmitt wrote in his letter. "Missourians deserve an explanation for why this event was canceled."
