Giants owner Charles Johnson says he didn’t know he funded a QAnon sympathizer

Charles B. Johnson, the Giants principal owner, sought to separate his politics from his involvement with the team in a statement released Friday after his donations came under scrutiny this week.

A longtime contributor to Republican causes, Johnson has received some backlash after it was reported that he and his wife, Ann, donated a combined $5,600 to the campaign of Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., a first-term Congress member who has voiced support for QAnon and faced criticism for a tweet about the location of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol building.

Johnson, 88, provided this statement through a Giants spokesperson:

“Like most of the country, I watched in dismay as our Capitol was overrun last week. I hope that those who engaged in or encouraged violence are held accountable for their behavior.

“I have a long history of giving political contributions to Republican and some Democratic candidates who share my strong belief in a free market system. My contributions are mine alone and are not associated in any way with the San Francisco Giants.

“It is often difficult to predict the future behavior of candidates and I would never have imagined that any legitimate candidate would participate in undermining the core values of our great country. Nor was I aware that any candidate to whom I contributed was associated with QAnon.

“I strongly believe in our democratic system where our elected representatives can engage in vigorous debate in the halls of government, free from violence and intimidation and in a peaceful and respectful manner. I hope we can return to this tradition that has served our great country so well for so long.”

Boebert said in May that she hopes QAnon — a baseless conspiracy theory group that suggests Satan-worshiping pedophiles and cannibals control the government and are working against President Trump — “is real.” She has since said she is not a QAnon follower.

Receipts for donations made to Boebert’s campaign by Charles Johnson and Ann Johnson for $2,800 each, the maximum allowed amount, are dated Sept. 23, 2020, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Last October, an ESPN and FiveThirtyEight analysis of political donations by 160 pro sports owners and commissioners in federal elections since 2015 found that Johnson’s contributions far outweighed those of others — accounting for more than $11 million of the nearly $47 million total. Johnson had donated $10,995,500 to Republican causes — making up 32% of all donations — as well as $35,000 to bipartisan causes and $5,200 to Democrats, the analysis found.

Among numerous donations last year, Johnson also contributed to the campaigns of first-term Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., one of eight Republican senators who voted to overturn the Electoral College results, and Georgia’s Kelly Loeffler, who recently lost a run to keep her appointed Senate seat. Last year, as a co-owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, Loeffler criticized that league over its support of the Black Lives Matter movement, for which the Giants expressed support during their 2020 season.

Johnson previously faced criticism in 2018 for a donation to then-Senate candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., who said during her campaign she would be in “the front row” if invited to a public hanging. After the donation came to light, civil rights leaders called for a boycott of the Giants. Johnson told The Chronicle then that Hyde-Smith’s comments were “stupid” and “offensive” and that he’d requested and received the donation back.

Matt Kawahara is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mkawahara@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @matthewkawahara

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