Here Is How Alex Jones, a Trump Campaign Fundrasier and a Grocery Store Heiress Helped Plan the Jan. 6th Rally
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According to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal, a number of former President Trump’s key allies helped pay for and organize the rally that preceded the capitol riots that left five people dead on January 6th. While the preceding event was legal and non-violent, the remarks that Trump made at the rally were widely condemned and led to him being impeached by the House of Representatives, accused of inciting a riot and encouraging a mob of protoestors to "fight like hell" to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election.
Far right media personality and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones donated $50,000 to the event and helped bring in additional funds, including a $300,000 contribution from Julie Jenkins Fancelli, heiress to the Publix grocery store fortune. Ms. Fancelli’s contribution covered “the lion’s share” of the costs which totaled roughly $500,000. She also donated nearly one million dollars to Trump and the Republican party during the 2020 presidential election.
In a statement to Esquire, a Publix spokeswoman 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.”
To help organize the event, Ms. Fancelli tapped Caroline Wren, a Trump fundraising official who earned $730,000 for her work for the Trump campaign in 2020. According to text messages and a memo obtained by ProPublica, Wren “oversaw logistics, budgeting, funding and messaging” for the January 6th rally which was officially hosted by the pro-Trump group Women for America First. In an attachment on the event’s public gathering permit, Wren is listed as a “VIP advisor.” The permit also reveals that at least five other former Trump officials were involved in organizing the event. In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Ms. Wren said her role for the event “was to assist many others in providing and arranging for a professionally produced event at the Ellipse.” A spokesman for the Trump campaign told the Journal “it had no role in financing or organizing the Ellipse event and didn’t direct former staffers to do so.”
Before the Wall Street Journal's and ProPubublica's investigations, little had been known about who was behind the funding and organizing of the event that preceded the storming of the capitol. It is now clear that the event was supported in part by influential people with ties to the White House.
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