Publix, the grocery store company, has caved to pressure from a protest led by David Hogg that included “die-in” disturbances at their stores.
Here’s what happened
The Parkland massacre survivor began calling for a protest against the company over campaign donations they had made to Adam Putnam, a Republican candidate for Florida governor who was supportive of the NRA.
“Anyone who supports an NRA sellout is an NRA sellout,” Hogg tweeted. “That is why I am calling on everyone to stop shopping at Publix until they pull their endorsement of Putnam publicly.”
Hogg began to plan “die-in” Protests where his accomplices lie down in Publix grocery stores and pretend to be dead while holding campaign signs and chanting slogans. The disturbance is meant to pressure the company to give in to their political requests.
Hogg was also demanding that Publix double the amount it had given to the pro-NRA candidate and donate that amount to the Stoneman Douglas Victims fund.
Videos of the protests were spread online by supporters of the anti-NRA campaign, and through lavish coverage from the media.
On Friday, Publix released a statement vowing to end their political contributions and review their donations process.
“We regret that some of our political contributions have led to an unintentional customer divide instead of our desire to support a growing economy in Florida,” thestatement read. “As a result of this situation, we are evaluating our processes to ensure that our giving better reflects our intended desire to support a strong economy and a healthy community.”
