GoFundMe banning fundraising for travel to political events with risk of violence

GoFundMe will no longer allow fundraisers for travel to political events where there is a risk of violence, the company announced Tuesday.

“Over the last several months and leading up to the rally and subsequent violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, GoFundMe removed several fundraisers attempting to challenge the legitimate results of the 2020 election,” the company said in a statement, adding that its terms of service prohibit fundraisers that spread misinformation about the 2020 election. “GoFundMe will remove fundraisers for travel expenses to a future political event where there’s risk of violence by the attendees.”

“We strongly condemn the violence and attempted insurrection and will continue to remove fundraisers that attempt to spread misinformation about the election, promote conspiracy theories and contribute to or participate in attacks on US democracy,” the statement continued.

GoFundMe joins a long list of companies that have issued statements condemning last week’s violence. Stripe said it will no longer process donations to the Trump campaign, and the PGA announced Sunday it would no longer hold the 2022 PGA Championship at the president’s Bedminister, N.J., golf club. 

Dow Chemical, Marriott International, American Express and others have said they are cutting off campaign contributions to politicians who voted against certification of the Electoral College votes. 

Extremists move to secret online channels to plan for Inauguration Day in D.C.

Stefanik, a vocal ally of President Donald Trump, was asked by Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf to resign from the committee, but “she declined to step aside, and I told her that I would therefore remove her from the IOP’s Senior Advisory Committee at this time,” he wrote.

Elmendorf said Stefanik made public statements endorsing baseless election fraud conspiracy theories that “do not reflect policy disagreements but bear on the foundations of the electoral process through which this country’s leaders are chosen.” He noted that the lawmaker, a Harvard alum, has been involved with the nonpartisan institute, which was founded to encourage Harvard students to pursue careers in politics, for “a long period, beginning with her role as a student leader (she was in the class of 2006) and continuing to her mentoring students and strengthening the IOP’s programming in many ways.”