Republican AGs Pledge to Investigate GoFundMe After Trucker Fundraiser Taken Down

Protesters gather on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to demonstrate against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions on Feb. 5, 2022. Annie Wu/NTD

Several Republican attorneys general vowed on Feb. 5 to investigate GoFundMe’s move to take down a fundraiser for protesting truck drivers in Ottawa, Canada.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey signaled that they would be looking into the matter.

“My office will be looking into whether or not #GoFundMe violated our state law,” Landry wrote on Twitter.

Morrissey said on Twitter on Feb. 5, “We’re not done yet & will not tolerate shady practices.”

On Feb. 4, GoFundMe said it would redistribute about $9 million in donations for the convoy, but on Feb. 5, it reversed course and said it would refund all donations.

“This refund will happen automatically—you do not need to submit a request. Donors can expect to see refunds within 7-10 business days,” GoFundMe wrote on Twitter. Previously, the company said it would redistribute the money to other charities.

GoFundMe took down the trucker fundraiser after claiming it violated the website’s terms of service, although it didn’t provide any evidence. GoFundMe has not responded to a request for comment.

Fundraisers are now using GiveSendGo to raise money, having gathered some US$3 million as of Feb. 6.

“Think about what occurred here. You have a business that essentially makes money off people out of the goodness of their hearts wanting to contribute to a cause that’s important to them. You have a big business that encourages that. They take a percentage,” Moody told Fox News.

GoFundMe, she said, makes money via donations, and “without any notice to anyone—and no donor knows this before they make a contribution—[GoFundMe is] going to make some political judgment that ... this isn’t a worthy cause anymore, and just shut down after raising millions of dollars.”

Protesters have amassed in downtown Ottawa, the Canadian capital, for more than a week. They want the Canadian government to end all COVID-19 vaccine mandates, including one for truckers who cross into the United States.

One trucker involved in the protest, named Andrew, told Fox News: “I got guys that come up to my door and offer me cash donations. I refuse. I don’t want cash. I’m not doing this to make money. I’m doing this for the choice, for everybody’s choice, for freedoms.”

Another trucker, Mat, said that the support has been overwhelming.

“There’s been so many people coming up to us and shaking our hands and helping us with food and drinks and whatnot,” he told Fox. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve never been more proud to be Canadian.”