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Jefferson City, MO—Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick announced that JP Morgan Chase will clarify the terms and conditions for service by WePay, a subsidiary of the bank and offered to reinstate the account for the Defense of Liberty organization, after receiving contact from the Treasurer informing the bank they would not be allowed to do business with the Treasurer’s Office so long as they continued to discriminate against customers based on their mainstream political positions.

“I am glad that JP Morgan Chase quickly recognized their mistake and has committed to reviewing their internal policies and procedures. I am looking forward to receiving information about concrete action the bank plans to take to prevent future discriminatory actions,” Treasurer Fitzpatrick said. “While private businesses have the right to do business with whomever they please, Missouri will not do business with financial institutions who discriminate against its customers based on their mainstream political ideology.”

Treasurer Fitzpatrick was recently made aware that WePay, a subsidiary of JP Morgan Chase, suspended ticket processing for an upcoming Speaker Series event hosted by the Defense of Liberty organization citing their Terms of Service which prohibit processing 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.” The group, founded by Marine and former state representative Paul Curtman, clearly does not support or engage in those activities.

Despite these serious accusations, WePay offered no information or specifics about how the group or this event fall into any of these troubling categories saying that information was proprietary and their decision was “final”. On Wednesday, after being contacted by Treasurer Fitzpatrick, the company reversed course and said, “After further review, we determined that the Defense of Liberty PAC didn’t violate the Terms of Service.”

On Wednesday, the Treasurer sent a letter to JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon explaining that these recent actions by the United States’ largest bank indicate it is discriminating against customers based on their political ideology. Because of this, he said, the Treasurer’s Office will no longer do business with JP Morgan Chase or any other financial institution that discriminates against customers based on mainstream political ideology so long as that discrimination continues.

“Denying service based on political ideology is un-American and only serves to further divide our country. Boycotts, bans, and cancellations will not unite us, but listening to those with whom we disagree without preconceived judgements might help,” the Treasurer wrote. “I urge you to reconsider this misguided decision, restore payment processing for the Defense of Liberty organization, and join me in condemning the politics of divisiveness and begin engaging with those we disagree with rather than silencing them.”

A full copy of the letter can be read here.

Follow the Treasurer’s Office on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @motreasurer.

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