A Minneapolis bar was forced to close its doors for good after revelations that the owner contributed to the campaign of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke led to a mass exodus of employees and a widespread customer boycott, it was learned on Tuesday.
Club Jager, an establishment that offered live music from small, local bands and DJs, shut down operations due to the fierce backlash ignited by news that its owner, Julius DeRoma, donated $500 to Duke’s failed run for a U.S. Senate seat from Louisiana in 2016.
News of DeRoma’s political leanings, which was first reported by City Pages, prompted the bar’s employees to resign en masse and live musical acts to declare that they would no longer play gigs there.
Jake Rudh, a DJ who was a regular act at the bar, posted a notice on Facebook last week announcing his decision to shun Club Jager.
A Minneapolis bar was forced to close its doors for good after revelations that the owner contributed to the campaign of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke led to a mass exodus of employees and a widespread customer boycott
Club Jager, an establishment that offered live music from small, local bands and DJs, shut down operations due to the fierce backlash
Last week, it was learned that the bar’s owner, Julius DeRoma, donated $500 to Duke’s (above) failed run for a U.S. Senate seat from Louisiana in 2016
‘Like many of you, I was shocked and appalled to hear the news about the venue’s owner this morning,’ Rudh wrote on his Facebook page.
‘I refuse to stay at a venue where the owner supports the likes of David Duke and his messages of hate.
‘I thank all of those who have come to the venue to support myself, Transmission and it’s hardworking staff.
‘This is not the end of the weekly dance night, but it very much is at Clubhouse Jager.’
‘All showed up and just wept together and cried about the whole loss and shame of the thing,’ Drea Kingston (above), one of the bartenders who along with other staff quit en masse
The bar’s employees were also shocked.
‘All showed up and just wept together and cried about the whole loss and shame of the thing,’ Drea Kingston, one of the bartenders who along with other staff quit en masse, told WCCO-TV.
Kingston said that her boss’ donation to Duke told her all she needed to know.
‘It says racist, it shows white supremacy, it shows hatred. It’s vile and it’s disgusting,’ Kingston said.
‘Hatred was not welcome in my life nor should it be in anyone’s in this day and age.’
DeRoma defended himself, saying that his political donation to Duke was ‘basically free speech.’
When asked about the backlash, he said: ‘Well, whatever. What do you expect?
‘It’s basically something that is blown up beyond what it should be.’
Kingston said that staff members are now grappling with the economic ramifications of their decision to quit.
‘I am just so saddened that everyone is going to be going through financial crisis, undue stress,’ she said.
Jake Rudh, a DJ who was a regular act at the bar, posted a notice on Facebook last week announcing his decision to shun Club Jager
‘It’s been so stressful I’ve never ever had the thought that I didn’t want to go to work there until today.’
While there were a few employees who decided to quit almost immediately as word spread of the donations, others were more reluctant because of financial reasons, according to the Star Tribune.
Angry internet users even started to inundate employees’ inboxes with messages accusing them of being Nazi sympathizers.
One employee was allegedly followed by a group of hecklers who accused her of being a ‘Nazi lover.’ One of the hecklers is said to have spit on her.
A regular at the bar said that De Roma was rarely seen in his bar, but when he did show up, he was a pleasant person to deal with.
‘No one had any idea he was of that mind-set,’ said Rob Callahan.
A GoFundMe page was set up to help former employees. It raised nearly $2,000.
Ton Up Motorcycle Club Minneapolis, an organization that puts together the largest annual event at Club Jager, released a statement on Tuesday announcing that it would be ending its partnership with the bar.