Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis showed some solidarity with the massive trucker protest in Canada.
On Tuesday, DeSantis tweeted a graphic with the words “Truck Yeah,” reportedly as demonstration of support for the Freedom Convoy, which on Wednesday ended its fifth day of denouncing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s COVID mandates.
Rebel News noted that DeSantis’ spokeswoman Christina Pushaw clarified the governor’s message, tweeting, “Florida supports the #FreedomConvoy and all workers who stand up against job-killing authoritarian mandates.” She also criticized Canadian media that portray the truckers as “dangerous individuals.”
But one place the truckers from the Great White North are not feeling the love is GoFundMe.
On Jan. 23 two people, Tamara Lich and B.J. Dichter, launched a crowd-funding campaign to support the truckers.
“We are a peaceful country that has helped protect nations across the globe from tyrannical governments who oppressed their people, and now it seems it is happening here,” they wrote. “We are taking our fight to the doorsteps of our Federal Government and demanding that they cease all mandates against its people.”
“Small businesses are being destroyed, homes are being destroyed, and people are being mistreated and denied fundamental necessities to survive. It’s our duty as Canadians to put an end to this (sic) mandates. It is imperative that this happens because if we don’t our country will no longer be the country we have come to love. We are doing this for our future Generations and to regain our lives back.”
The couple said the money would first pay for fuel for the truckers, and then for food and lodging, if necessary.
As of Thursday, the Freedom Convoy fundraiser had banked $10.1 million.
Yet GoFundMe has frozen the account.
In a statement, the social media company said, “This fundraiser is currently paused and under review to ensure it complies with our terms of service and applicable laws and regulations. Our team is working 24/7 and doing all we can to protect both organizers and donors. Thank you for your patience.”
It’s unclear when the money, like the truckers themselves, might be freed up.
But Breitbart News reported that some Trudeau-like politicians want to seize it for themselves.
The outlet noted Ottawa City Councilor Mathieu Fleury tweeted on Sunday, “This morning I have asked the city manager and city solicitor to immediately launch court proceedings targeting the millions of dollars in funds frozen by GoFundMe so Ottawa taxpayers are not left holding the bag for these protests.” Fleury later deleted the tweet.
Last week, Dichter wrote on GoFundMe that the site had released some of the money – reportedly $1 million – and asserted that the company’s pause was standard procedure.
“The team at GoFundMe have been amazing to work with and we are very appreciative of their support,” Dichter said.
Liberals, however, want the company to pull the plug.
Writing at The Conversations, Jeremy Snyder, a professor at Simon Fraser University, argued, “GoFundMe has already decided that it won’t host fundraisers for people accused of hate crimes and proponents of vaccine misinformation. It’s hard to see why this campaign deserves its support over those others, especially when it’s giving the convoy’s often abusive supporters a larger platform.”
“It’s time for GoFundMe to decide what it actually stands for in practice, and not just pay lip service to it.”
Visit Tampafp.com for Politics, Tampa Area Local News, Sports, and National Headlines. Support journalism by clicking here to our GoFundMe or sign up for our free newsletter by clicking here.
Android Users, Click Here To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook Here Or Twitter Here.