AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas attorney general’s office is investigating GoFundMe after the site shut down a fundraiser for protesters fighting COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Canada.
In a statement Wednesday, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton said the company’s actions “should ring alarm bells to anyone using the donation platform and, more broadly, any American wanting to protect their constitutional rights.”
Protesters descended on the Canadian capital of Ottawa last week to rail against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic public health measures. The so-called “Freedom Convoy” has attracted support of high-profile U.S. Republicans, but sparked backlash from local residents who are upset by the blaring horns, traffic gridlock and harassment, according to The Associated Press.
On Sunday, Ottawa officials declared a state of emergency over the demonstrations that have used hundreds of parked trucks to block streets in the city’s downtown.
Organizers of the GoFundMe campaign had raised about $7.8 million to support the “Freedom Convoy” before the site suspended it following reports of unlawful activity.
“GoFundMe supports peaceful protests and we believe that was the intention of the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser when it was first created,” GoFundMe said in a statement. “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.”
GoFundMe said it will not release funds to Freedom Convoy organizers and instead work with them to send all remaining money to verified charities. Donors can also ask for a refund by Feb. 19, the site said.
In deciding to investigate, Paxton noted many Texans contributed to the “worthy cause” and should know “where their hard-earned money is going, rather than allowing GoFundMe to divert money to another cause without the consent of Texas citizens.”
Invoking the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Paxton’s office demanded the company release a range of documents by the end of the month, including any communications with the U.S. or Canadian governments. GoFundMe did not immediately return a request for comment.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has also called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate GoFundMe’s decision to end the fundraiser.
“The Canadian truckers are heroes, they are patriots and they are marching for your freedom and for my freedom,” Cruz said Sunday on Fox News.
Canadian leaders, meanwhile, are pushing back on that rhetoric.
“It is certainly not the concern of the Texas attorney general as to how we in Canada go about our daily lives in accordance with the rule of law,” the country’s Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said this week.
“We need to be vigilant about potential foreign interference,” Mendicino said. “Whatever statements may have been made by some foreign official are neither here nor there. We’re Canadian. We have our own set of laws. We will follow them.”
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