Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation into GoFundMe’s handling of fundraising connected to the “Freedom Convoy” in Canada.
Paxton issued a civil investigative demand to GoFundMe on Wednesday, alleging that the crowdfunding website violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act after it removed a fundraising page for the Freedom Convoy that had raised $10 million.
“GoFundMe’s response to an anti-mandate, pro-liberty movement should ring alarm bells to anyone using the donation platform and, more broadly, any American wanting to protect their constitutional rights,” Attorney General Paxton said in a press statement. “Many Texans donated to this worthy cause. I am acting to protect Texas consumers so that they know where their hard-earned money is going, rather than allowing GoFundMe to divert money to another cause without the consent of Texas citizens. I will get to the bottom of this deceitful action.”
GoFundMe canceled the fundraiser on Friday, stating that it would work with organizers to “send all remaining funds to credible and established charities.” Donors could also submit a request for a refund by filling out a form before Feb. 19. After receiving pushback online, GoFundMe reversed its position and said on Saturday that it would refund all of the funds donated within seven to 10 days.
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“Due to donor feedback, we are simplifying the process. We will automatically refund all contributions directly — donors do not need to submit a request,” the fundraising website said in a statement.
Christian fundraising alternative GiveSendGo stepped up to provide a platform for the Freedom Convoy after GoFundMe pulled down the page. As of Wednesday, the page has raised $7.5 million in donations.
On Sunday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also threatened to investigate GoFundMe’s actions in Canada, tweeting, “It is a fraud for [GoFundMe] to commandeer $9M in donations sent to support truckers and give it to causes of their own choosing.” The Florida governor promised to work with Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to investigate GoFundMe’s “deceptive practices.”
Truckers surrounded Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, over the last two weeks, culminating in a rally on Saturday challenging Canada’s vaccine mandates. The number of truckers grew large enough that it forced Ottawa’s mayor to declare a state of emergency on Sunday.
This isn’t Paxton’s first time targeting tech companies. The Texas attorney general filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google in December 2020. Fifteen states have joined Paxton in the lawsuit as of January 2022. Google attempted to dismiss the lawsuit in January, alleging that the lawsuit’s claims were not “credible.”
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Paxton filed a civil investigative demand against Twitter in January after the social platform banned former President Donald Trump in January 2021. Paxton claimed that it was investigating allegations that Twitter had violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Twitter attempted to dismiss the suit in federal court, alleging that the case was retaliatory and not legitimate. The judge rejected the dismissal.
