Rep. Paul Gosar, a Republican member of Congress from Arizona, is asking federal regulators at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to investigate Wells Fargo for allegedly closing a woman’s bank account for “political reasons.”
He points out that the response to Lauren Witzke when she questioned the bank when her account was without warning and summarily closed was that it also was for “business reasons” pertaining to her Christian beliefs and Christian advocacy.
“It is my understanding that regulated banks cannot discrimination against customers because of the customer’s religious beliefs,” the member of Congress wrote in a letter to Greg Coleman, deputy comptroller for large bank supervision.
Gosar pointed out that under the law, “it is illegal for a regulated bank to close an account on the basis of religion.”
“By closing her account due to her membership in a protected class, Wells Fargo may have engaged in discriminatory lending practice and public accommodations,” he wrote.
HUGE: @DrPaulGosar calls for an investigation into Wells Fargo for religiously persecuting their clients!
Christians are a protected class and we will NOT be discriminated against.
Thank you Congressman Gosar for standing up for Christians against Wells Fargo. pic.twitter.com/yvgv1U9Rjf
— Hold the Line PAC (@HoldTheLinePAC) June 25, 2021
WND previously reported Wells Fargo acted recently against Witzke, an America First activist.
The bank claimed it made the decision “appropriately,” but the actions generated a warning from Andrew Torba, the chief of Gab.com, who also has faced banking obstacles because of politics.
“Today it’s Lauren; yesterday it was Gab; and tomorrow it can and will be you,” he warned.
The National File said Witzke, who was a Republican candidate for Senate in Delaware in 2020, confirmed the bank corporation shut down her bank account, removing her money from the entire system.
It left her with a “zero balance” and she would have been stranded had she not been with friends out of state at the time.
The report explained, “The lack of explanation from Wells Fargo as to why they closed down Witzke’s bank account opens questions as to why the decision was taken to begin with, and if it had anything to do with her Christian conservative politics. Witzke is a current presenter with TruNews, a Christian broadcast network, and has stood up for America First policies, including joining with fellow conservative activists Nick Fuentes, Laura Loomer, and Michelle Malkin, to push for a greater crackdown on Big Tech in Florida. She had been removed from Twitter after calling out a transgender activist for saying that little girls are ‘kinky.'”
The report said, “Witzke is not the first conservative to face seemingly punitive action from banks as a result of her politics. Gab founder and CEO Andrew Torba earlier this year revealed that he and his New Tech social media platform had been banned from 4 banks within the space of 4 weeks, due to media smears that the site is a ‘haven for extremists’ and other spurious claims. In February, pro-Trump coffee brand ‘Covfefe Coffee’ were banned from using Chase Bank’s WePay processor – after National File and others reported on the incident, sales for Covfefe Coffee shot up over 7,500%.”
Gosar pointed out a colleague of Witzke, Pete D’Abrosca, also sustained the loss of a bank account at Wells Fargo.
He “is also a Christian advocate,” the letter said.
“I would appear a prima facie case of religious discrimination could have occurred,” Gosar said.
National File said according to an email it received, “Wells Fargo claimed that the decision to cancel Witzke’s account was not due to ‘political views or affiliations’ but could have been due to ‘a number of reasons.'”
Gosar pointed out that federal law, including the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Civil Rights Act, notes that Christianity and religion are protected classes from discrimination by financial institutions.
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