"Your discriminatory behavior is a serious threat to free speech and religious freedom, is potentially illegal, and is causing political and regulatory backlash," the letter sent Monday states. "
Your bank needs to be transparent with and assure us, its shareholders, and others that it will not continue to de-bank customers for their speech or religious exercise," the AGs wrote.
Media relations representative, Bill Halldin, denied the claims in a statement saying, "Religious beliefs are not a factor in any account-closing decision."
"We are proud to provide banking services to non-profit organizations affiliated with diverse faith communities throughout the United States," he said.
The AGs claim that Bank of America has previously denied services to gun manufacturers, distributors, and sellers, fossil-fuel producers, contractors for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and private prisons and related services.
Eastman clarified that his accounts with Bank of America and USAA were used for personal finances. He explained that despite having accounts with Bank of America for approximately 40 years, he began switching over to USAA because of the “
wokeness” at Bank of America.
“We had Bank of America accounts for about 40 years. But just because of their wokeness we kind of quit a couple of years ago, using them much. They’ve got physical locations and therefore easy ATM, so we kept our accounts there, but we didn’t use much. And about four or five years ago, we opened USAA bank accounts and we were using those as our primaries,” said Eastman.
When approached by the Daily Caller for comment on the situation, Bank of America's media relations representative, Bill Haldin, declined to provide a specific response, stating, "Just as a general policy, we don’t comment on client matters."
The closure of Eastman’s bank accounts is part of a broader concern that debanking could be more common if financial institutions choose to target those with a right-wing ideological worldview.
“No American should lose their
bank account because banks want to play politics. Time and time again, we are seeing banks target and cut off those they disagree with and refuse to explain why. That is unacceptable,” said Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, per the Daily Caller.