Considering that the “freedom convoy” has turned into an “occupation” of downtown Ottawa and that illegal acts are taking place as part of the demonstration, the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe announces that it will not pay the approximately 10 million collected over the past two weeks to finance the movement. Donors may be reimbursed.
Posted at 6:55 p.m.
GoFundMe made the announcement late Friday, citing a violation of its service policy.
“GoFundMe recognizes the right to peaceful protest and believes this was the original intent of the organizers of the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraising campaign,” the California-based company wrote in a statement posted on the crowdfunding campaign page. of the protest movement.
“We now have evidence from law enforcement that this protest turned from peaceful to occupation, including police reports of violence and illegal activity,” the statement added.
GoFundMe now considers the fundraising campaign to be in violation of its “prohibiting the promotion of violence and harassment” policy. After donating approximately $1 million to organizers out of approximately $10 million raised from donors over the past two weeks, GoFundMe announces that “no further funds will be distributed directly to Freedom Convoy 2022.” “We will work with organizers to send remaining funds to credible charities verified by GoFundMe,” the statement said.
Donors can request a refund until February 19 by filling out a form posted on the fundraising campaign page.
On Thursday, the instigator of the fundraising campaign, Tamara Lich, held a press conference during which she notably announced that she had set up a corporate structure to ensure that the funds are properly used under the supervision of a team of lawyers and accountants.
GoFundMe froze campaign funds on Jan. 25 when the prize pool stood at $4.5 million. Mme Lich, had initially claimed that this was false information. The platform subsequently requested documentary evidence of what the sums were to be used for.