GoFundMe Seizes $9 Million Raised For Trucker Convoy, Will Redistribute to Charities Of Their Choosing
GoFundMe has spent the last two days deciding whether they will release the funds that have been gathered from the Freedom Convoy's donation page. Today they announced that they will not give anymore money whatsoever to the truckers as they continue their protest in Ottawa.
In a shocking turn of events, GoFundMe has officially announced that they're seizing the remaining money in the Freedom Convoy's account. More than $10 million CAD has been donated so far, and while GoFundMe initially released $1 million of those dollars to the truckers after cooperating with the organizers of the fund, they won't be releasing another cent.
GoFundMe Cites a Violation of "Promotion of Violence"
The donation platform took to Medium on February 4 and announced their plan. "To ensure GoFundMe remains a trusted platform, we work with local authorities to ensure we have a detailed, factual understanding of events taking place on the ground," they wrote. "Following a review of relevant facts and multiple discussions with local law enforcement and city officials, this fundraiser is now in violation of our Terms of Service (Term 8, which prohibits the promotion of violence and harassment) and has been removed from the platform."
"Given how this situation has evolved, no further funds will be directly distributed to the Freedom Convoy organizers."
According to GoFundMe, the organizers offered a clear enough "distribution plan" for the first $1 million they released. It was confirmed that those funds "would be used only for participants who traveled to Ottawa to participate in a peaceful protest." But they don't believe this to be the case anymore.
"Given how this situation has evolved, no further funds will be directly distributed to the Freedom Convoy organizers," GoFundMe concluded. They stated at the very top of the blog post, "GoFundMe supports peaceful protests." And they "believe that was the intention of the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser when it was first created."
GoFundMe Is Going to Redistribute the Funds
Evidently, the "evidence from law enforcement" is enough for them to pull the plug on all the funding. More than just holding onto the $9 million, they have a plan to redistribute this money. And it won't necessarily be going back to the individuals who donated it.
"We will work with organizers to send all remaining funds to credible and established charities."
"We will work with organizers to send all remaining funds to credible and established charities chosen by the Freedom Convoy 2022 organizers and verified by GoFundMe," they wrote. What those organizations are, we don't know yet.
They did leave an option at the bottom of the page that allows donors to "submit a request for a full refund." This offer stands until February 19.
We haven't heard from the organizers of the Freedom Convoy yet and don't know what their reaction is. But this kind of blatant discrimination against a group of protestors who refuse to fall in line with the coronavirus restrictions and mandates isn't exactly surprising.