Will Wilkerson, once an executive vice president of operations for former President Donald Trump‘s media business and a co-founder of Trump’s Truth Social website, is now training baristas at a North Carolina Starbucks for $16 an hour.
As reported by The Washington Post, Wilkerson’s change in career came after he provided over 150,000 internal company documents, including emails and contracts, to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and federal investigators in Florida and New York.
Wilkerson blew the whistle on what he claimed was misleading information given to small investors by Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) executives.
In response, he was accused of creating “psychodramas” and was fired from his position.
Despite the consequences of his actions, Wilkerson has seemingly maintained a positive attitude, claiming, “It’s an honest day’s work. I love what I do.”
However, Wilkerson now faces a defamation lawsuit in a Florida circuit court, brought by TMTG CEO Devin Nunes.
As a federally protected whistleblower, Wilkerson knew retaliation was a risk, but he chose to act regardless. He expressed, “I made the conscious decision. I knew the risks … especially in regards to retaliation. But I don’t think I could have sat back and stayed quiet, even if I was compensated handsomely for doing so.”
Wilkerson added, “Ultimately, you know, I just want to do what’s right.”
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If the SEC takes action against TMTG and collects sanctions, Wilkerson could potentially receive a substantial payout through the agency’s whistleblower reward program, depending on the amount of assessed penalties.
In his new role at Starbucks, Wilkerson prefers to keep a low profile, especially around his teenage coworkers, stating, “Obviously, I don’t shout from the rooftops here about my past history and my whistleblower status.”
Wilkerson’s grandfather, Billy Wilkerson, was a controversial figure in Hollywood as the founder of the Hollywood Reporter and owner of some of the Sunset Strip’s most famous nightclubs.
He was also a key instigator of the anti-Communist Hollywood blacklist of the 1950s during America’s red scare.
With experience in radio and television, Will Wilkerson helped draft the initial plan for Trump’s media empire.
He was part of the team that pitched the idea to Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, promising an online platform where the former president would never be silenced, canceled, or fact-checked. Moreover, Wilkerson claimed they offered Trump 90% of the company without any investment.
However, by last summer, Wilkerson’s feelings toward the company had allegedly changed, and he grew concerned that the small-time investors they had relied on were at significant risk.
In August, he alerted the SEC via a whistleblower tip form, then spoke with The Washington Post and the Miami Herald for stories published in October.
TMTG fired Wilkerson after discovering he had spoken with a Post journalist, accusing him of making “unauthorized disclosures” to the newspaper.
