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Charles B. Johnson, the Giants’ largest shareholder, and his wife each donated the maximum amount ahead of the 2020 general election to Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Who expressed support for QAnon and was criticized for his actions over the past week. attack on the US Capitol.
Johnson, a longtime contributor to Republican causes, and his wife, Ann, each donated $ 2,800 to Boebert’s campaign, according to documents filed by the Federal Election Commission.
The first-term lawmaker was reprimanded for tweeting about the location of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the siege of the Capitol building on January 6. She also said she hopes QAnon – a baseless set of conspiracy theories that pedophiles and Satan-worshiping cannibals control the government, working against President Trump – “is real.”
According to Axios, Boebert said she was not following QAnon but was happy that “deep state activities” were being investigated.
The Giants did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Boebert tweeted as rioters violated Capitol Hill that members of Congress were locked in the House chamber and that: “The President has been removed from office.” Critics said the tweet potentially put Pelosi at risk. Boebert, who has since faced calls for resignation, also tweeted earlier on January 6, ahead of the riot that left five dead, including a Capitol police officer: “Today is 1776” .
In a statement this week, Boebert said: “They accuse me of having tweeted live the presence of the President after she was safely evicted from the Capitol, as if I was revealing a big secret, while in fact, this deletion was also broadcast on television. . Boebert also accused Democrats of “false accusations” against Republicans of inciting violence.
Boebert is among lawmakers who reportedly flouted new security measures introduced to the Capitol building after the riot, including requiring members of Congress to go through metal detectors in the building. She has already spoken openly about carrying her gun on the Capitol grounds.
Johnson’s past contributions have drawn attention. Ahead of the 2018 midterm election, Johnson made a donation to then-US Senate candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Who was criticized during a successful campaign for saying she ‘she would be “in the front row” if she were invited to a public hanging. Johnson also donated $ 1,000 to a committee that created a racist radio ad in Arkansas.
When news of Johnson’s contributions surfaced in 2018, it led some fans and civil rights activists to call for a boycott of the Giants. Johnson later told The Chronicle that he requested and received both donations. Johnson told The Chronicle that Hyde-Smith’s comments were “stupid” and “offensive” and that the racist radio ad was “unacceptable”.
“Overall,” Johnson told The Chronicle in 2018, “I don’t like the idea that politics affects everything I do with the Giants.”
In October, an analysis by ESPN and FiveThirtyEight showed that Johnson, 88, had donated nearly $ 11 million to Republican candidates and political action committees in the federal election since 2015 – a figure representing 32% from all donations from 160 professional sports owners and stewards to Republican. causes in this time. Johnson’s total of $ 10,995,500 awarded to Republicans was nearly five times that of Donor # 2; he also gave $ 35,000 to bipartisan causes and $ 5,200 to Democrats, according to the analysis.
Matt Kawahara covers the A’s for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @matthewkawahara
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