The Entertainment Software Association announced that it is suspending donations by its Political Advisory Committee in the wake of the attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol by far-right insurrectionists.

"In light of the events and actions that led to the violence at the U.S. Capitol, we are suspending donations from the ESA PAC to reflect on the tragedy and our path forward," ESA said in a statement to Gamesindustry.biz.

During the 2020 U.S. election cycle, EA PAC donated $48,300 to federal candidates, including, as Gamesindustry.biz points out, five members of Congress who voted to overturn the election results over unsubstantiated claims of fraud after a violent attack on Capitol Hill The members of Congress included. These Congressmen are Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-Ga.), Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), Jackie Wolorski (R-Ind.), and Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), each received between $500 and $2,500 from the ESA PAC.

The ESA is a political organization founded in 1994 (as the Interactive Digital Software Association) in response to Congressman Joe Lieberman's proposed "Video Game Rating Act."

Since then, the ESA has supported anti-piracy legislation, filed millions of copyright infringement notices, and repeatedly defended loot boxes against proposed regulations.

In several previous elections, ESA PAC donated more to Republicans than Democrats; in the 2020 election cycle, 56.52% of its contributions went to Democratic candidates, swinging in the opposite direction.