Sam Brownback (R-KS) is one of the organizers of the National Committee for Religious Freedom (NCRF), a 501(c)4 organization composed of people from various faiths who promote the free exercise of religion. Within weeks of its creation, Brownback says he went to Chase Bank to make a deposit for NCRF and was told the account had been closed and that its money would be refunded at a later date.
According to NCRF, Chase employees initially said they were prohibited from providing any explanation as to why the account was cancelled. They later shifted and claimed NCRF had not provided requested documentation within 60 days. Their account was closed only 20 days after it was opened, and NCRF asserts it provided all requested documentation.
"Finally, when we got bounced up the system far enough, they said, 'Well, the decision was made at the corporate level. It is secret as to why we made this decision, and it's irrevocable,'" Brownback recently told the "AFA@TheCore" program.
He thinks it has to do with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies.
"I'd heard it happening to other people, but I always kind of figured there was some other ancillary issue or something else that was going on, and I just really didn't think about it much," the former senator and governor admits. "Then when it happened to me, and it happened to this group that's specifically set up to protect the Free Exercise Clause for individuals, I really was stunned. I couldn't believe that this would happen."
NCRF has since created a ChasedAway project, asking people to share examples of this kind of thing happening to them.
"We want to pull these together and start getting them to attorneys general, federal regulators, [and] members of Congress to start investigating these cases," Brownback relays. "This is the sort of thing that shouldn't be taking place in this country."
AFN is seeking comment from Chase.
