GoFundMe, a popular fundraising site, has cut ties with the convoy of Canadian truckers protesting COVID-19 mandates in Ottawa.
In doing so, the site has blocked the release of almost $10 million in donations to the “Freedom Convoy”.
A statement claimed the fundraiser was in violation of the site’s Terms of Service, specifically “Term 8, which prohibits the promotion of violence and harassment”.
“We now have evidence from law enforcement that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation, with police reports of violence and other unlawful activity,” the statement said.
GoFundMe had said donors will have two weeks to ask for a refund, and the rest of the money the group raised would be distributed to “credible and established charities” chosen by the Freedom Convoy.
On Friday, the platform’s Twitter page said it will be automatically refunding all donations, so donors will no longer need to submit requests.
Truckers have been in Ottawa since Jan. 29, many of them blocking roads and flying banners. According to the Toronto Star, police are preparing for more protestors this weekend and said the situation is “increasingly volatile and increasingly dangerous”.
Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly reportedly said “the hatred, the violence, the illegal acts that Ottawa residents and businesses have endured over the last week is unacceptable in any circumstance”.
On Wednesday, Facebook removed the page “Convoy to DC 2022,” created by U.S. truckers planning to travel from California to Washington, D.C.
Tesla founder Elon Musk slammed GoFundMe for their move, calling them “Professional Thieves”. “Double-standard?” he tweeted, including a screenshot of a June 2020 GoFundMe tweet in support of Seattle’s Capitol Hill Occupied Protest where riots broke out.
