DeSantis and other Republicans say they'll investigate GoFundMe over Freedom Convoy donations

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and multiple Republican state attorneys general have announced plans to investigate fundraising company GoFundMe, Reuters and The Hill reported. The Republican officials allege that GoFundMe may have violated state laws by refusing to distribute funds raised to support the "Freedom Convoy," a group of truckers and other demonstrators protesting Canada's COVID-19 policies.
According to The Daily Wire, the Republican attorneys general of Missouri, West Virginia, Ohio, and Louisiana have all said they plan to investigate whether GoFundMe defrauded donors from their states.
The convoy first entered Ottawa on Jan. 29 and has been blocking streets and keeping residents awake with loud honking ever since, The Washington Post reported.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
GoFundMe said it deleted the fundraiser after being told by Ottawa police "that the previously peaceful demonstration has become an occupation." According to BBC, as of Saturday the protests were still mostly peaceful, having resulted in only three arrests.
The company initially said donors would have to apply for refunds and that any remaining funds would go to charities approved by GoFundMe, but later reversed course and made refunds automatic.
"It is a fraud for @gofundme to commandeer $9 million in donations sent to support truckers and give it to causes of their own choosing. I will work with [Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody] to investigate these deceptive practices — these donors should be given a refund," DeSantis wrote on Twitter on Saturday, several hours after GoFundMe announced that all donations to the Freedom Convoy would be automatically refunded.
DeSantis also stated the amount in question in a slightly misleading manner. The funds GoFundMe refused to distribute totaled about 9 million Canadian dollars (equivalent to about 7.9 million U.S. dollars).
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Around 1 million Canadian dollars were distributed to the protest's organizers before GoFundMe removed the fundraiser.
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Frauds: ‘fantastically stylish’ crime heist caper is a ‘triumph’
The Week Recommends Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker play a pair of ex-cons planning one last job
-
The struggles of Aston Martin
In the Spotlight The car manufacturer, famous for its association with the James Bond franchise, is ‘running out of road’
-
The end of ‘golden ticket’ asylum rights
The Explainer Refugees lose automatic right to bring family over and must ‘earn’ indefinite right to remain
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Miami Freedom Tower’s MAGA library squeeze
THE EXPLAINER Plans to place Donald Trump’s presidential library next to an iconic symbol of Florida’s Cuban immigrant community has South Florida divided
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US