Fogbow

GoFundMe Has Removed The Viral Canadian Trucker Protest Campaign For Violating Its Rules On Violence
"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 company said.
by Brianna Sacks BuzzFeed News Reporter Posted 5 hours ago

GoFundMe has now removed a viral campaign funding the massive anti-vaccine mandate in Canada, stating that it violates its terms of service following discussions with law enforcement and city officials. The decision comes after GoFundMe said it was reviewing the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser, but that the campaign was "still compliant" with its rules pertaining to vaccine misinformation and funding travel to political events that could incite violence. "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 company said in a statement Friday. After "multiple discussions with local law enforcement and city officials," GoFundMe determined that the fundraiser violates a rule that prohibits "the promotion of violence and harassment."

The campaign started last January in response to the Canadian government's vaccine mandates for truckers crossing into the country. It quickly evolved into a global movement against what protesters describe as authoritarian governments taking away their freedoms. Some protesters have been accused of harassing people at a homeless shelter, desecrating war memorials and monuments, waving racist flags and swastikas, snarling traffic, and obstructing a US–Canadian border crossing. The movement has forced businesses and vaccine clinics to close due to the outpouring of maskless demonstrators. Earlier this week, GoFundMe froze the rapidly growing campaign, which had raised more than $7 million, to review how the money was being used.

"Organizers provided a clear distribution plan for the initial $1M that was released earlier this week and confirmed funds would be used only for participants who traveled to Ottawa to participate in a peaceful protest," GoFundMe said. "Given how this situation has evolved, no further funds will be directly distributed to the Freedom Convoy organizers." In a rare move, instead of dealing with refunds, GoFundMe said it would work with organizers to send all remaining funds to "credible and established" charities chosen by Freedom Convoy 2022 organizers that are verified by the fundraising platform. B.J. Dichter, one of the organizers of the convoy, lambasted the move on Twitter, accusing GoFundMe of "seizing" their donations and sabotaging their mission. In response, Dichter said they would turn to bitcoin.

Ottawa police vow crackdown on 'dangerous' trucker protest praised by Trump
By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Ottawa police vowed on Friday to crack down on an "increasingly dangerous" protest by hundreds of truckers who have shut down the center of the Canadian capital for eight days to demand an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The well-organized blockade, which police say has relied partly on funding from sympathizers in the United States, is unprecedented by Canadian standards. Hundreds more truckers planned to enter the city this weekend, Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly said. "This remains ... an increasingly volatile and increasingly dangerous demonstration," he told reporters. Protesters in the downtown core "remain highly organized, well-funded, extremely committed to resisting all attempts to end the demonstration safely," he added.

Some want an end to a federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers while others insist Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau be deposed on the grounds he exceeded his authority by imposing restrictions to tackle the pandemic. GoFundMe took down the Freedom Convoy's donation page on Friday, saying it was in violation of its terms of service. "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 website said in a statement. It said donors had until Feb. 19 to request a full refund, then it will "work with organizers to send all remaining funds to credible and established charities verified by GoFundMe."

In the western province of Alberta, where truckers have been blocking a major border crossing with the United States in a similar protest, premier Jason Kenney said ministers would meet early next week to start lifting restrictions. "We can, and must, get on with our lives, restore our freedoms, and live with joy, not fear," he wrote on Twitter. Giant flags wave atop improvised flagpoles as trucks and tractors block traffic in front of Manitoba Legislative Building, as truckers and their supporters continue to protest coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine mandates, in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Sloly, who said he and other top officials had received death threats, likened the protest to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot in Washington when thousands of supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in a bid to overturn Joe Biden's election victory. Trump said the truckers were "peacefully protesting the harsh policies of far left lunatic Justin Trudeau who has destroyed Canada with insane Covid mandates".

To the increasing fury of residents, Ottawa police have so far largely stood by and watched as some protesters smashed windows, threatened reporters and health care workers and abused racial minorities. Sloly said police would put in place a "surge and contain" strategy, including reinforcements of 150 officers deployed downtown, to restore order. "The hatred, the violence, the illegal acts that Ottawa residences and businesses have endured over the last week are unacceptable," he said. Blockades are also planned in Quebec City and Toronto, where authorities closed off access to the city centers. "We all want to do everything we can to avoid the situation we are seeing in Ottawa," said Toronto mayor John Tory. The protest is dividing the official opposition Conservative Party, which this week ousted its leader amid complaints he had not sufficiently backed the truckers. Interim Conservative chief Candice Bergen, in an email leaked to the Globe and Mail, said on Monday "we need to turn this into the PM's problem" and saw no need to ask the truckers to leave.Bergen issued a statement on Friday asking Trudeau to provide a clear plan to end the blockade and urging the truck drivers to remain peaceful. The party's public safety spokesman, Pierre Paul-Hus, tweeted on Friday that the blockade needed to end. Fellow legislator Dean Allison then tweeted that Paul-Hus was wrong.

Canada truckers’ vaccine protest spirals into calls to repeal all public health rules
Ahead of Saturday’s protest in Ottawa, Trudeau dismisses the group as a ‘small fringe’ that holds ‘unacceptable views’

Lani wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 3:28 am Because Texas has to say something about this....

Screenshot 2022-02-05.png

Ted Cruz on the Canadian trucker convoy: "The Canadian tuckers are heroes, they are patriots, & they are marching for your freedom & for my freedom. God bless them. They're defending Canada, but they're defending America as well."

Lani wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 5:53 am


This disturbs me. My dual degree (before going to law school) was world history & economic geography. We're entering a new age, and it's not looking good. Similar to the late 1920's & 1930's.

The tow trucks operators on contract to the City of Ottawa are taking a hard pass on requests to haul vehicles out of protest areas, according to the city's top public servant.

"I've contacted them all and they're all refusing, as of today, to provide heavy tow truck work," city manager Steve Kanellakos told reporters Monday evening after a six-hour special council meeting.

"Right now we're reviewing their contracts or standing offer, and reviewing what actions we can take to deal with this unprecedented situation."

More than 400 vehicles are parked illegally in the downtown core, according to Ottawa police, the majority of them heavy trucks (and at least one crane). One of several challenges facing the Ottawa Police Service and the city is how to get them off the streets if protesters refuse to drive them away.

Sam the Centipede wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 12:18 pm no tow trucks … explosives!

Sam the Centipede wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 12:47 pm Perhaps they need a small squad who paint targets on the sides of the trucks, and just one tank to roo up some distance away?

I wonder whether these truckers are generally independent contractors? (I know nothing of the trucking industry, especially not in Canada.) I can't see most sane companies being happy with this misuse of resources.

Volkonski wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 1:06 pm

Sam the Centipede wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 12:47 pm Perhaps they need a small squad who paint targets on the sides of the trucks, and just one tank to roo up some distance away?

I wonder whether these truckers are generally independent contractors? (I know nothing of the trucking industry, especially not in Canada.) I can't see most sane companies being happy with this misuse of resources.

A significant number of truckers in the US and Canada are owner operators who own or lease their own trucks.

sad-cafe wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 6:58 pm what would it take for me to just raise 100,000.

that would pay off all I owed and allow me to retire in the face of the school shit that is going down!