Chase Bank has closed the accounts of several conservative activists in recent weeks, without providing any reason for doing so. Among the individuals whose accounts Chase arbitrarily closed were Martina Markota, a video host for the conservative news website Rebel Media; independent reporter, Army combat veteran, and purple heart recipient Joe Biggs; Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the Proud Boys activist group and owner of a website that sells provocative political merchandise; conservative activist Laura Loomer, who was unable to access her Chase banking app, but she was uncertain as to whether this was politically motivated or a technical glitch.
The Epoch Times stated in a report that Markota, a principle of Magnum Opus Productions, was the first individual they know of to have an account closed by Chase. As if to add insult to injury, the letter that Chase sent to Magnum Opus Productions noted: “Even though we are closing your banking and/or investment accounts, any Chase Auto, Mortgage and/or student loan or lease accounts you may have with us will remain open. Please continue to make regular payments.”
An article in the conservative entertainment paper Society Reviews last September 4, said of Makota:
From Artist to News Personality to the star of her very own graphic novel, it has been a very interesting road for Martina Markota in the last couple of years. Blacklisted in the art community of NYC after coming out as a Trump Supporter during the 2016 election, Markota has been the target many harassment campaigns due to her affiliation with controversial right-wing figures Milo Yiannopoulos and Gavin McInnes.
The Epoch Times also reported on Joe Biggs’ experience with Chase Bank. Biggs runs an online shop selling merchandise such as T-shirts imprinted with conservative slogans such as “Register communists, not firearms,” and “Deportation saves lives.”
“Chase bank just closed out my account!” Biggs said in a February 16 tweet.
His Twitter post came to Chase’s attention after is was circulated in hundreds of retweets, after which Biggs’phone started ringing with calls from Chase’s executive office.
“After about hour and a half on the phone, I wasn’t able to talk to anybody and get a clear reason as to why they closed my account,” he later said in an interview with the OAN news network.
Chase told Biggs that they had received a lot of backlash from veterans, and they offered to reinstate his account, but he declined and decided to take his business elsewhere.
The Epoch Times reported that it spent nearly two months in regular correspondence with Chase spokespeople, but could never get an explanation regarding the account terminations.
“We can’t share information about customers for privacy reasons, but we would never close an account due to political affiliation,” Chase spokesman Tom Kelly said in an e-mail.
In addition to being unable to access her Chase account, Loomer has also had her Twitter account suspended, and she’s also been banned by PayPal and from ride-sharing services Lyft and Uber, reported Breitbart.
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