WaPo: How Proud Boys and other fringe groups found refuge on a Christian fundraising website

[BumRushDaShow]

‘A place to fund hope’: How Proud Boys and other fringe groups found refuge on a Christian fundraising website



By Amy Brittain and David Willman
Jan. 18, 2021 at 10:02 a.m. EST


Henry “Enrique” Tarrio had already publicized his plans to participate in the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally. The 36-year-old Miami resident and national chairman of the Proud Boys posted on social media that he would direct small teams of his far-right group with a history of violence to wear black and fan out across Washington. But when he arrived in D.C. on Jan. 4 ahead of the scheduled demonstrations, he said, “15 cop cars” swarmed his Honda Crosstour soon after he passed through the Third Street Tunnel. Tarrio was wanted on a misdemeanor charge from December accusing him of setting fire to a historic Black church’s Black Lives Matter banner. During the traffic stop, authorities found high-capacity firearm magazines in his backpack, resulting in felony weapons charges, according to court records. And as he sat in a jail cell for 24 hours, Tarrio said, he thought about how he would need a lot of money to get out of this mess.

Good lawyers, he said, don’t come cheap. He said family members had the idea to monetize the support of his online followers through GiveSendGo.com, a niche Christian fundraising website that bills itself as “a place to fund hope.” Within a week, the “Enrique Tarrio Defense Fund” had amassed more than $113,000 from 2,359 donors, according to the site. Tarrio has pleaded not guilty. “It’s not just Proud Boys that are raising money there,” Tarrio said in an interview Thursday, noting that his group’s chapters nationwide have used the site to fund their cause. “There’s just so many people that are raising money there.” A review by The Washington Post shows that the self-described Christian website has become a refuge of sorts for outcasts and extremists, including fringe groups such as the Proud Boys as well as conspiracy theorists who seek to undercut the results of the presidential election by promoting debunked claims of fraud. Some of the users claim to have been booted from other crowdfunding websites for violating terms-of-service agreements.

Postings on GiveSendGo show that at least $247,000 has been raised for 24 people — including at least eight members of the Proud Boys — who claimed online that the money was intended for travel, medical or legal expenses connected to “Stop the Steal” events, including the Jan. 6 rally. One post asked donors to “sponsor a warrior” and help “buy body armor and other protection pieces for our patriots.” It has raised only $5. Another featured a screenshot of President Trump’s tweet promoting the Jan. 6 event above a man’s plea for help after he claimed that a different crowdfunding site, GoFundMe, had removed his page. “I plan to meet you all there and fight alongside you,” he wrote on GiveSendGo, raising $958.The pleas for money illustrate how even small-dollar donations could make the trip to Washington possible for some Trump supporters.

A Texas woman asked for $500, listing her expenses: $15 for pepper spray, $100 for cab fares and $100 for a room at a hostel, with extra money for food and an emergency fund. She said one donor already contributed his frequent flier airline miles to defray the cost of a plane ticket. Another woman pleaded for $400 to cover her travels: “Funds are tight and I’m behind on bills. . . . For the last rally I drove straight through with no motel and no sleep. It was difficult. By giving, you would allow me to sleep on the 5th and 6th and keep my trip and driving safer.” She ended her post by writing: “We’re going to MAGA” — referring to Trump’s pledge to “Make America Great Again!” The Post’s review also found that more than $321,000 has been raised through GiveSendGo for funds that promote conspiracy theories about the presidential election.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/a-place-to-fund-hope-how-proud-boys-and-other-fringe-groups-found-refuge-on-a-christian-fundraising-website/2021/01/18/14a536ee-574b-11eb-a08b-f1381ef3d207_story.html

[llashram]

1. and when judgement comes

and these so-called kkkristians stand before the god they profess to follow, Christ WILL say, "I know you not".

[gibraltar72]

2. Where better than Christstains who are already 90% of the way there because they are primed

for magical thinking.