Posted on 09/01/2014 10:57:24 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The websites dedicated to raising money for Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson have mysteriously stopped accepting donations after collecting nearly half a million dollars - and it's not clear why.
Since Wilson's name was released to the public on August 15, two GoFundMe pages have raised more than $433,000 to pay legal bills and other costs associated with his fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.
By Sunday, however, both pages were no longer accepting money, giving donors the message: 'Donations are Complete! The organizer has stopped donations.'
Wilson has been in hiding since he was identified as the officer who killed Brown. The teen was shot at least six times in a Ferguson street. Wilson, through friends, has said he was justified in opening fire. However, residents of mostly black Ferguson are furious and the shooting sparked several days of protests.
The shooting is currently under investigation by the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney, as well as the Justice Department. Brown's family and supporters are calling for Wilson to be charged with murder
A GoFundMe page supporting Brown's family has raised $315,000. It is still collecting money....
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
First off, we want to say again how much we appreciate ALL of the support for Officer Darren Wilson. This page and everything we have done, up until this point, would not have been possible if it hadn't been for everyone here.
Secondly, we understand your questions, concerns and frustrations with both GoFundMe accounts. Please note, NOBODY shut down the GoFundMe account because of any petitions floating around trying to close it and GoFundMe did not close them either. That decision was made by those closest to Officer Darren Wilson looking out for his best interest. We are doing our best daily to keep you updated (to the best of our ability) with all truths that come to us. That is our number one priority, to always be honest with our supporters.
Rest assured, if you donated to either GoFundMe it will go to Officer Darren Wilson. We are constantly trying to find the best ways to support Officer Darren Wilson as we know our supporters want to keep helping as best they can.
Bare with us as we are going through these changes. We will continue to be open and honest with our supporters. We will not do anything unless it is in the best interest of Officer Darren Wilson.
https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Support-Darren-Wilson/1464514543811507?fref=nf
Thanks, but I’ll decline to “bare with you.”
“That decision was made by those closest to Officer Darren Wilson looking out for his best interest.”
Tax matters? The possibility that local “youths” think he has the money in a big sack in his house?
I’m with the earlier comment, somebody not wanting this guy to get a fair shake put the squeeze on the page owners.
Ah here we go, the good folks at The Conservative Treehouse come through again:
“Color of Change, founded after Hurricane Katrina to empower black people, has launched a petition demanding that GoFundMe return the profits it has made from campaigns for Wilson. The fundraising site automatically charges 7.9 percent and 30 cents per donation in the U.S. and Canada. ... On the petition, Color of Change says GoFundMe will be violating its own terms of service through the “financial exploitation of a crime” if Wilson is charged in relation to Brown’s shooting.”
and
“Look back at what happened with George Zimmermann. As soon as a trial judge found out about the defense fund, he set a bail that more than wiped it all out. The donated money ended up going to a bail bondsman, who made a big profit on it.”
I caught that, too. Strange that a homonym would creep in there.
Let's get nekkid’!
But.. but... I’m homonymophobic.
sounds like mother Russia.
I like hominy.
Could simply be it’s enough, and an uncontrolled influx of money into the millions does create problems.
Yeah, it's neat when all those people sing together...
Perhaps Officer Wilson knows something we don’t know . . . like the fact that it’s a slam dunk case, there will be no charges, they just need this to die down a bit before they make the announcement: good shoot.
My guess is that Dorian Johnson cracked and told the true story. He’s probably being relocated in a witness protection program. There also may be solid evidence . . . a cell phone video, credible witnesses, audio, etc. that supports the officer’s story.
I figured this case was over when Eric Holder came to town and didn’t stir things up more than he did. I suspect he was briefed on the evidence and everybody shifted into exit strategy mode. How the hell do we wind this thing down without St. Louis burning to the ground? I suspect they’re just waiting for some huge breaking news story to provide the necessary cover.
Bare with us?
I’m with you.
The fundraising is getting a LOT of attention. Which made a really good statement about public support for the officer but isn’t a good thing at this point. If it isn’t going to be needed it can be shut down.
If it is needed, a half mil in the bank is good seed money to get a defense going, and the donations can be restarted.
That’s possible, but just as likely the donations were stopped because of tax implications as well as an accounting of assets of the officer. Recall the trouble Zimmerman was in when claiming in essence poverty when there were funds collected for his defense—and this was to be assessed regarding bail and such..
I think it likely something along the lines of the Zimmerman experience is at play.
Yes, I believe the fix is in to bring him to trial, like Zimmerman, and to impose excessive bail because of his monetary on-line assets (if they were turned over to him or he had access to them).
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