Giants owner Charles Johnson asks QAnon rep Lauren Boebert for refund



[ad_1]

Giants owner Charles B. Johnson, criticized by many fans of the team for supporting Representative Lauren Boebert, said Monday evening that he had asked for his and his wife’s gifts to be returned to him.

In a statement released by the Giants, Johnson said he and his wife, Ann, would also seek refunds from others who “have engaged in similar behavior.”

Boebert, a freshman Republican from Colorado, expressed support for conspiracy theory group QAnon and tweeted about the location of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi amid the violent Jan.6 attack on the building of the US Capitol.

Johnson, 88, and his wife each donated $ 2,800, the maximum amount, to the Boebert campaign, according to documents filed by the Federal Election Commission. The Giants said Johnson, the team’s primary owner, had contacted Boebert to request reimbursement of September contributions.

“As I stated last week,” Johnson said in the statement, “I am appalled by the violence that erupted on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021 and the destructive efforts to halt the certification of the 2020 presidential election. My wife Ann and I reject and denounce any individual, candidate or elected official who does not honor our constitution or who adheres or participates in violence of any kind. I contacted the office of Representative Lauren Boebert to request a full refund of our contribution. I will continue to monitor the ongoing investigation closely and seek refunds from anyone else who has engaged in similar behavior. And I pledge to do my part to help heal our nation and restore peace and respect to our democratic system.

Johnson released his first statement on Friday and said he “never imagined that a legitimate candidate would participate in undermining the core values ​​of our great country.” I was also unaware that any of the candidates I contributed to were associated with QAnon. “

In the initial statement, Johnson did not say he would seek a refund.

On Thursday, the Giants issued a statement condemning the attack and saying team policy prohibited corporate contributions to federal office candidates and added: “Individual contributions from employees and investors are considered to be in nature. personal. “

Christine Pelosi, Nancy’s daughter who sits on the board of the Giants ‘Community Fund, told Sacramento Bee columnist Marcos Breton she was furious with the Giants’ response and called on Johnson to demand a refund. She said she would step down from the board if Johnson and the Giants didn’t fix the issue by Monday, the day to honor Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

After Johnson’s statement on Monday night, Pelosi told The Chronicle: “It has been a very intense and scary time. I thank Mr. Johnson and the Giants for their commitment to justice and healing.

She also said she was grateful for the support from Giants fans and thanked Giants public announcer Renel Brooks-Moon and Breton for speaking “despite the risks of access and comfort.”

“As you know, part of the magic of baseball is that it brings people of all philosophies together,” Pelosi said, “and as we try to keep politics out of the game and we’re all friends at the ballyard, we must draw the line to violence and sedition.

Johnson also asked in 2018 for a donation to be returned. He backed then-Senate candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Who said she would be “front row” if invited to a public hanging. Civil rights leaders have called for a boycott of the Giants, and Johnson said in an interview with Chronicle that his comments were “stupid” and “offensive.” He said the donation had been returned.

Johnson has donated nearly $ 11 million to Republican candidates and political action committees in the federal election since 2015, according to a 2020 analysis from ESPN and FiveThirtyEight. He gave Democrats $ 5,200.

John Shea covers the Giants for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @JohnSheaHey



[ad_2]

Source link