In September, the Minneapolis bar Club Jäger was forced to shut down after it was revealed that the bar’s owner, Julius De Roma, had donated to a political campaign for infamous white supremacist and vocal Donald Trump supporter David Duke. This week, De Roma decided to reopen the bar—just in time for the Super Bowl, which takes place in Minneapolis this Sunday.
De Roma, who donated $500 to Duke’s failed 2016 Senate campaign in Louisiana, evidently feels that enough time has lapsed for him to be able to crawl out of the woodwork.
His decision to reopen Club Jäger for the Super Bowl is perhaps fueled by a hope that throngs of unwitting football fans will come to the bar on Sunday.
From WCCO (emphasis mine):
De Roma told WCCO-TV his donation was “basically free speech” and that the controversy had been blown up beyond what it should be.
On Wednesday, the bar had a “soft reopening”, saying the bar is going back to “its original roots, with soft background music, intelligent conversation, no stupid collectivist games, and no disco! Individualists are welcome!”
Duke isn’t the only Republican candidate De Roma has donated to. He also gave a total of $560 to Trump in 2016, and has given $2,900 to Ron Paul, the retired libertarian congressman and father of Sen. Rand Paul. De Roma has also given money to the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Libertarian National Committee in the past.
Fun fact: De Roma’s $500 to Duke’s Louisiana Senate campaign came just one week after he gave $200 to Trump’s presidential campaign. I’m not implying those two things are related in any way, just drawing your attention to two interesting data points!
Local activists in Minneapolis are planning protests in response to Club Jäger’s reopening in the coming days. If you live in Minneapolis and plan on watching the Super Bowl at a bar this weekend, try to find one that does not financially support avowed white supremacists!
But if you’re a white supremacist in the Twin Cities looking to drink some disgusting Jäger bombs while talking about the true meaning of the 14 Words, I’m sure De Roma would welcome you with open arms. Just remember: NO STUPID COLLECTIVIST GAMES.