A nightclub in Minneapolis, Minn. has shut down for good after it was boycotted by employees, patrons and performers, following revelations that the club’s owner donated to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke‘s failed Senate campaign in late 2016.
Julius Jaeger De Roma, owner of Club Jager, was revealed to have donated $500 to Duke’s campaign in an Aug. 29 report by alternative newspaper City Pages. He previously donated to libertarian candidates Ron Paul and Rand Paul, as well as President Donald Trump.
The revelation prompted several of Club Jager’s resident performers to publicly cut their ties with the venue, located just north of downtown Minneapolis.
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“I refuse to stay at a venue where the owner supports the likes of David Duke and his messages of hate,” DJ Jake Rudh wrote in a Facebook post.
“If anyone has a lead on a fun place to throw a party that isn’t ultimately owned by colossal shitheads, please drop us a line,” alternative rock band The 90s Preservation Society said.
A few employees quit as soon as they learned about DeRoma’s donation, while those who stayed reported being harassed, the Star Tribune reported. The bar eventually closed for good on Aug. 31.
“It’s just basically free speech,” DeRoma told CBS Minnesota. “What do you expect? It’s basically something that is blown up beyond what it should be.”
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Club Jager wasn’t the only business that closed this week over its owner’s donation to Duke — a Chinese restaurant in Santa Cruz, Calif. suffered the same fate after its owner was revealed to have made several contributions to Duke’s campaign, The Mercury News reported.
Duke’s run for a U.S. Senate seat from Louisiana wasn’t his first failed political campaign. He previously attempted bids for the Senate, Congress and presidency, after holding the position of Imperial Wizard of the KKK in the 1970s.