Jan 12, 2019, 05:46 am
https://www.thedailybeast.com/gofundme-b...non-profit
Apparently wounded veterans can also be assholes.
Quote:A decorated veteran who raised more than $20 million to finance construction of a wall along the southern U.S. border has announced that he will instead use the money to finance a new nonprofit group that will build the wall itself—or at least a couple miles of it.
Brian Kolfage’s crowdfunding campaign on the website GoFundMe went viral in December, before news outlets uncovered previous instances in which the triple-amputee veteran appeared to have pocketed funds raised through similar, if far smaller, campaigns billed as efforts to assist wounded warriors.
Now Kolfage, a prolific operator of conspiracy theory Facebook pages, has recruited a team of prominent figures in President Donald Trump’s orbit to run a new nonprofit outfit named We Fund The Wall to do some wall construction of its own. The new group’s board, Kolfage announced on Friday, includes Erik Prince, the founder of infamous military contractor Blackwater; David Clarke, the scandal-plagued former sheriff of Milwaukee County; Fox News contributor Sara Carter; Tom Tancredo, an immigration hardliner and former Colorado congressman; and former Kansas Secretary of State and voter fraud crusader Kris Kobach.
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It’s not clear how much money from the crowdfunding effort will make it to the nonprofit. GoFundMe is emailing donors with an option to proactively agree to send their money to We Fund the Wall, but if donors decline or never respond to that option, they’ll receive a refund.
In a statement, GoFundMe cited Kolfage’s initial statements on the fundraising page as proof that the initial campaign had failed to achieve its goal. In GoFundMe’s view, that means they can refund donors’ money.
“When the campaign was created, the campaign organizer specifically stated on the campaign page, ‘If we don’t reach our goal or come significantly close we will refund every single penny,’” GoFundMe’s statement reads. “He also stated on the campaign page, ‘100% of your donations will go to the Trump Wall. If for ANY reason we don't reach our goal we will refund your donation.’ However, that did not happen.”
Even without GoFundMe, though, Koflage may reap another benefit from the crowdfunding and a related petition, since those have provided him with a large email list of fired-up conservative donors willing to spend money on a cause that they believe in. On Friday, NBC News reported on Kolfage’s history of harvesting large political email lists, including one text message in which Kolfage discussed using petitions to “steal/collect emails.”
Apparently wounded veterans can also be assholes.