On Monday, crowdfunding platform GoFundMe announced it has removed multiple campaigns that were dedicated to James Fields, the man who has been accused of driving his through a group of counter-protesters at the “Unite for Right” rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend.
Speaking about the campaigns, director of strategic communications at GoFundMe, Bobby Whithorne stated to Reuters that the campaigns for Fields did not raise any funds and were immediately removed from the funding portal. Less than 10 campaigns were posted so far and Whitehorne noted that GoFundMe will continue to delete similar campaigns if more are created.
As previously reported, supporters of Heather Heyer, who died after being hit by Fields’ alleged vehicle, raised $225,000 for funeral expenses and her family. The Unite the Right rally was in response to the University of Virginia announcing plans to remove the statue of famous Confederate Army General, Robert E. Lee, from its campus. The rally began Friday evening and counter-protesters arrived on Saturday to stand by the university’s decision.
GoFundMe’s policy currently prohibited hate speech or encouraging violence on its crowdfunding platform. Kickstarter and Indiegogo also stated to Reuters that they have similar policies as well. GoFundMe has encouraged its users to donate funds to those who did not encourage the violence.
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