The department posted a thank you note on its Facebook page on Thursday after receiving the pizza party donation from Grapevine-based Patriot Mobile, which calls itself America’s only Christian conservative wireless provider.

That post prompted an outcry from many who criticized the department for accepting a donation from a “divisive” company. So on Sunday the department wrote another social media post stating that the donation would be given to “a worthy cause.”

“We do not question a donor’s beliefs, we simply express our gratitude. In this case, however, the donation brought out deep emotion,” the post says.

“One of our values, Dignity, ensures that we recognize the inherent worth of all persons and compels us to act toward them within a manner that conveys our understanding of that truth.”

The post generated comments on both sides.

One person wrote, “So if I am a conservative (which I am) and decide to donate a pizza party or such to a Grapevine Municipal Department, that is not welcomed? What if a liberal leaning entity/company decided to do the same? You guys really stepped in it.”

Another said: “As an actual Grapevine resident, it is clear the Grapevine Police Department did the right thing here. Obviously, the group donating is divisive, just look at the comments! Let’s all get back to celebrating Martin Luther King Day!”

The police department’s post led to a strong rebuke from Patriot Mobile’s CEO Glenn Story, who said in a blog post that the department was caving to pressure from “leftists” throughout the country who called for defunding the police.

“Following the uproar, the City of Grapevine took a knee by rescinding their thank you to Patriot Mobile and announced they are rejecting the donation intended for the police force and re-gifting it to ‘a worthy cause’. Patriot Mobile requests that Grapevine joins us in agreeing that police officers are a ‘worthy cause’. Patriot Mobile’s intention when purchasing the certificate at an auction that benefits families of fallen soldiers, was to honor our police officers.”

The post also stated that Patriot Mobile paid $2,575 for the $1,500 gift certificate at an auction. The company asked that the pizza party be given to another police department in North Texas if Grapevine continues to reject the donation.

“Patriot Mobile knows the sentiment expressed in the woke PR statement is not shared by all officers in the Grapevine Police Department. We invite the GPD to reach out if we can help in any way, as we will always stand with our first responders. We encourage others around the country to join us in supporting local police departments as they risk their lives in cities across America each and every day.”

Patriot Mobile said the company is proud of its Christian values and described in another blog post how giving to conservative causes increased significantly during the past year.

In 2021, the company gave $500,000, and in 2022, the amount went up to over $2 million, according to the website.

Early last year, the Political Action Committee Patriot Mobile Action supported candidates in 11 school board races in Grapevine-Colleyville, Keller, Carroll and Mansfield. All of the candidates won, which led to conservative majorities.

Patriot Mobile LLC donated over $500,000 to Patriot Mobile Action.

This story was originally published January 17, 2023 2:39 PM.