PayPal Holdings closed an account held by Joy In Liberty, one of the groups that paid for supporters of President Trump to travel to Washington, where mobs stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
The account was shut because it violated PayPal’s acceptable-use policy, according to an emailed statement Thursday.
“PayPal carefully reviews accounts to ensure our services are used in line with our long-standing policy,” the company said. “We do not allow PayPal services to be used to promote hate, violence or other forms of intolerance.”
The move came after hordes of Trump supporters broke through police lines and into the Capitol, interrupting congressional debates over the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College votes and forcing lawmakers into hiding.
Joy In Liberty shared stories on its website of people who used funds the group raised to travel to the U.S. capital this week, saying it has provided more than $30,000 “to deserving patriots.” The website also offers tools to research the QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims that Trump is battling a deep state ring of child-sex traffickers.
Joy In Liberty didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
PayPal Chief Executive Dan Schulman called Wednesday’s events “disturbing” in an earlier statement, saying it violated “the very foundation” of American democracy.
“Now, more than ever, we need to foster an environment of inclusion and healing, where we listen to each other, respect each other and keep our country as a beacon for democracy,” Schulman said.
