June 15, 2023

Tax records reveal more contributions from Publix heiress to “dark money” groups sponsoring Jan. 6 rally

An OpenSecrets investigation shows Publix heiress Julia "Julie" Jenkins Fancelli steered millions more than previously reported to "dark money" groups involved in the rally preceding the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

Redistricting pits Democratic powerbrokers against each other in high-stakes Virginia state Senate primary

Court-drawn redistricting forced two Hampton Roads Democratic state senators to compete for the same position. Redistricting has spurred widespread retirements and a spate of competitive primaries in the 140 Virginia General Assembly seats on the ballot this year.

This story is part of a series produced in partnership with the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO.

Dive deeper into the data behind the headlines

Julia “Julie” Jenkins Fancelli, daughter of late Publix Super Markets founder George Jenkins and an heir to his roughly $9 billion fortune, was interviewed by the House Jan. 6 select committee after news the heiress funded three of the 11 partners sponsoring the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Fancelli is currently the sole funder and president of the George Jenkins Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit that made a $1.3 million contribution to Moms for America. The contribution is previously unreported and was not discussed in Fancelli’s publicly-available Jan. 6 select committee testimony transcript.

Groups involved in the rally received at least $3 million in total funding from Fancelli, according to estimates from the House Jan. 6 select committee. The committee released its final report on Dec. 22, 2022.

While Fancelli provided funding to several of the groups, that money did not necessarily go to support the rally itself. Select committee records indicate that some of the money was intended to help cover legal efforts after the 2020 election.

See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week:

Why Did Washington Fall So Hard for the Bankman-Fried Brothers? (New York Times)

Protect Our Future, the super PAC that helped spend Sam’s millions, put more than $11 million into a single Oregon congressional race. This was “several times the previous record for spending by a single group in a single House primary,” according to a researcher for OpenSecrets. Their candidate lost anyway.

George Soros has handed control of his charitable and political activities to his son Alex (CNN)

Democracy PAC gave $81 million in political donations during the 2019-2020 election cycle, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks political donations and spending.

Corporate boycotts clash with political reality (Reuters)

The trouble is that AB InBev's donations to Republican campaigns last year were quadruple what it gave to Democratic ones, according to OpenSecrets. Constellation Brands (STZ.N), which sells the beer that unseated Bud, more often backs Democrats.

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