According to a new report by BuzzFeed News millions of dollars that were supposed to be raised for Black Lives Matter have been funneled to a program that links police officers to their local communities, a concept that goes completely against Democrat’s “Defund the Police” movement.
BuzzFeed explains that the bulk of the people donating to the group were unaware that their money was actually funding the police.
The Daily Wire reports:
According to the outlet’s estimations, The Black Lives Matter Foundation raised at least $4.35 million in the first weeks of June, “though the bulk of that was frozen before it could be disbursed.”
The foundation is a Santa Clarita, California–based charitable organization “that has one paid employee and lists a UPS store as its address,” BuzzFeed reports. The founder, Robert Ray Barnes, is a 67-year-old L.A.-based music producer.
The Black Lives Matter Foundation, unlike the mainstream Black Lives Matter movement (The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc.), has the express goal of “bringing the community and police closer together.”
“I don’t have anything to do with the Black Lives Matter Global Network. I never met them; never spoke to them. I don’t know them; I have no relationship with them,” Barnes said to BuzzFeed. “Our whole thing is having unity with the police department.”
On the Black Lives Matter website, the group openly calls for the “national defunding of police” along with the “disruption” of the nuclear family; a family with two parents anbd children.
This concept is much different than what Barnes hopes to accomplish.
After GoFundMe heard about the news, the immediately froze the donations to Barnes:
Based on estimates from BuzzFeed News, donors raised at least $4.35 million for the Black Lives Matter Foundation in the first weeks of June, though the bulk of that was frozen before it could be disbursed. In some cases, companies including GoFundMe were unaware the foundation had no affiliation with the wider movement and froze funds only after being contacted by BuzzFeed News.
“The Santa Clarita group is improperly using our name,” said a Black Lives Matter spokesperson to BuzzFeed News. “We intend to call them out and follow up.”
The Tampa Bay Times explains that the international Black Lives Matter movement, “is fiscally sponsored by the nonprofit Thousand Currents.”
“That means Thousand Currents is handling Black Lives Matter’s finances as the organization seeks its own tax-exempt status,” the outlet reported. “The Internal Revenue Service stipulates that 501(c)(3) organizations are ‘absolutely prohibited’ from making contributions to political campaigns, which would apply to Thousand Currents.”
The Daily Wire reports:
Still, where the movement is funneling its cash is not totally transparent, leaving many asking questions.
Another cop-critical charitable organization that has come under scrutiny for its use of donations is the celebrity-touted Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF), which posted a message online Monday after facing intense backlash over the bail-out charity’s allocation of funds. According to MFF’s website, the organization has brought in over $30 million in donations since the death of George Floyd, yet only “well over” $200,000 in donations — less than 1% of their funds — have actually been used to bail out protesters and rioters.
“Appreciate all those calling for transparency,” the fund posted online Monday. “We see y’all. Our values and mission have not changed since 2016. Be on the lookout for things coming on our end. Be well.”
A follow-up tweet read: “Without jeopardizing the safety of the folks we bailed out we paid well over $200k in the weeks since the uprising alone. We are working on doing more.”
Author: CollinRugg
Source: Trending Politics: BACKFIRE: Liberals Flooded Millions to BLM Charity Not Knowing Money is For Linking Police to Local Community
