Conservative commentator Candace Owens’ GoFundMe for an Alabama bar that was embroiled in controversy over comments made by the owner about George Floyd was suspended for violating GoFundMe’s Terms of Service.
Michael Dykes, co-owner of Parkside Cafe, referred to George Floyd as a “thug,” called protesters “idiots,” and suggested “implementing a protester tax” in text messages that circulated amongst his employees, eventually making their way to social media, according to AL.com.
In light of the text messages, several of Dyke’s employees resigned, and people began calling for a boycott of the bar on social media.
Dyke told AL.com that his texts were motivated by watching a now-viral Facebook video of Owens talking about George Floyd. In the video, Owens says she doesn’t believe Floyd is “a martyr or a hero.” He also expressed his frustrations over the protests and the curfew that was subsequently put in place due to the protests, for adding strain to his business, which was already trying to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
In response, Owens created the GoFundMe for the bar and quickly raised $205,000 before the account was suspended. On Sunday, Owens tweeted out a screenshot of the suspension notice from GoFundMe, who had informed Owens her account was removed for violation of their terms of services.
“We are writing to inform you that your GoFundMe campaign has been removed because of a violation to our Terms of Service, specifically our prohibition on ‘under content that we deem in our sole discretion, to be in support of hate, violence, harassment, bullying, discrimination, terrorism, or intolerance of any kind,” the notice read.
All of the money that was raised before the suspension will still be given to the bar, and GoFundMe would be dealing directly with employees at Parkside Cafe to distribute the funds.
