WePay, an online payment processor owned by the largest bank in the U.S., JPMorgan Chase, forced the cancellation of an event featuring Donald Trump Jr. in Missouri after it blacklisted the conservative organization hosting it — a decision the financial giant later said was a mistake.
Don Jr. had been set to appear at the Defense of Liberty PAC’s event at the St. Charles Convention Center in Saint Charles, Missouri, on December 3.
On November 9, WePay refunded over $30,000 in ticket sales for the event and notified the PAC that it would not do business with it in the future, financially blacklisting the conservative organization.
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 05: Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., participates in a discussion on Detroit’s economic recovery on April 5, 2016 in Washington, DC. JPMorgan Chase announced they will make a five-year, $125 million commitment to Detroit’s economic recovery. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Donald Trump Jr. speaks during a Republican National Committee Victory Rally at Dalton Regional Airport January 4, 2021 in Dalton, Georgia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
In a message to the PAC’s founder, former state Rep. Paul Curtman, WePay said the PAC had been blacklisted for violating its terms of service.
“More specifically,” said the message, “Per our terms of service, we are unable to process for hate, violence, racial intolerance, terrorism, the financial exploitation of a crime, or items or activities that encourage, promote, facilitate, or instruct others regarding the same.”
After an inquiry from the Missouri Independent, the JPMorgan Chase-owned payment processor said the decision had been a mistake, but would not say any more about how the mistake happened.
“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 JPMorgan Chase representative told the newspaper.
“To be clear, we have never and would never close an account due to a client’s political affiliation.”
Speaking to the Missouri Independent, Curtman condemned WePay’s interference in the event and said he believed it was driven by political animus.
“My personal sense of why they did this is kind of along the same lines we have been seeing in our culture in recent years,” Curtman said. “If someone has a different idea politically, there is an attempt to silence them or shut them down.”
“It threw a wrench right into the middle of everything,” Curtman said. “We had vendors and small businesses and other people who were relying on this as part of their business. We are going to get back on track.”
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.