A Milwaukee Black Lives Matter GoFundMe page claims to be raising $5 million for a nonprofit bail organization. It comes days after GoFundMe shut down a BLM fundraiser for Darrell Brooks, the suspect in a Waukesha car attack.
A previous GoFundMe page that was raising funds specifically for Brooks’ bail was taken down for violating the platform’s terms of service. The new fundraising page, set up two days ago, is trying to raise the exact same amount, but is much more generic in its language and does not mention Brooks.
The page, started by Holly Zoller, says it’s raising money for the Bail Project, a nonprofit organization that works to raise funds for people’s bails. The group bailed out numerous people arrested last year during Black Lives Matter protests.
Zoller says she is raising money to “help make an impact,” though she does not say where the money will go after it is given to the Bail Project.
Brooks is accused of driving a vehicle into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, injuring dozens and killing six. At the time, he was out on bail of just $1,000. The organizer of the previous GoFundMe page described Brooks, a convicted sex offender, as “our dear friend” and insinuated that Brooks’ arrest was a result of systematic racism.
While the new project doesn’t specify that it will help Brooks, many have accused the page of using a loophole in the system to continue violating the platform’s terms of service, which prevent fundraising for someone accused of violent crimes.
Zoller is listed on the Bail Project’s website as a ‘bail disrupter’ in Louisville, Kentucky. A ‘bail disrupter’ is described by the group as “community members” dedicated to “racial and economic justice.” Her activism in the past included a viral video showing a U-Haul truck, reportedly rented by her, that handed out supplies, such as shields.
Update. RT has received an email signed by The Bail Project press manager Joseph Pate, who said his charity has no connection to the fundraiser campaign and was not raising funds for Darrell Brooks. The GoFundMe page has since been deleted.