Pro-Trump activist Candace Owens is banned from GoFundMe for spreading 'falsehoods against black community' after raising $205k for Alabama café whose owner called George Floyd a 'thug' (but the eatery can KEEP the money)
Conservative activist Candace Owens has been suspended from GoFundMe after she launched a fundraiser on the website for an Alabama café whose owner criticized George Floyd.
Owens raised more than $200,000 for Birmingham’s Parkside Café over the course of the weekend, after co-owner Michael Dykes called Floyd a 'thug' on Friday, and also labelled protesters demonstrating against his death in Minneapolis Police custody last week as ‘idiots’.
Dykes’ comments were made in a text message to a co-worker that was later leaked on social media, prompting three employees to quit and sparking outrage online calling for the restaurant to be boycotted.
Owens has also come under fire for her own controversial comments about Floyd this week, describing him as a symbol of a 'broken culture in black America today’, and said ‘the fact that he has been held up as a martyr sickens me'.
Those comments appear to have prompted GoFundMe to ban Owens from the platform on Sunday, accusing her of spreading ‘falsehoods against the black community' in a 'repeated pattern of inflammatory statements'.
Conservative activist Candace Owens has been suspended from GoFundMe after she launched a fundraiser on the website for an Alabama café whose owner called George Floyd a ‘thug’
Owens raised more than $200,000 for Birmingham’s Parkside Café (above) over the course of the weekend, whose co-owner Michael Dykes criticized Floyd on Friday, and also called protesters demonstrating against his death in Minneapolis police custody last week ‘idiots’.
‘GoFundMe has suspended the account associated with Candace Owens and the GoFundMe campaign has been removed because of a repeated pattern of inflammatory statements that spread hate, discrimination, intolerance and falsehoods against the black community at a time of profound national crisis,’ the fundraising platform said in a statement.
‘These actions violate our terms of service,’ the company added.
Owens’ fundraising campaign quickly gained traction after its launch Saturday, reportedly raising over $16,000 in the first four hours. By the time GoFundMe removed the campaign the following day, the total stood at $205,000.
GoFundMe banned Owens from the platform on Sunday, accusing her of spreading ‘falsehoods against the black community'
In a series of tweets, the conservative pundit condemned GoFundMe for what she called a ‘blatant form of discrimination’ in their decision to remove the page. Owens added there was also ‘NOTHING intolerant or violent about raising funds to help a conservative business owner.
‘Once again, conservatives and Trump supporters need to adapt to a world that tells us that our very existence is unacceptable,’ she blasted. ‘That our ideas, thoughts, and now even our charitable efforts are unacceptable. That threatening, boycotting, and cancelling us is okay.’
Owens decision to start the fundraiser was sparked when Dykes’ texts leaked online. In the messages, the business owner also advocated for a ‘protest tax’ at the bar and suggested employees who participated in demonstrations should resign.
‘We should go up one or two dollars on everything until June 10th. Call it a protest tax because all the idiots that went to the protests are responsible for us not being able to open normal hours, Dykes wrote in the text. ‘Any employees that went or are going should resign. Mr. Floyd was a thug, didn't deserve to die but honoring a thug is irresponsible.’
The café has since apologized for Dykes’ remarks. GoFundMe acknowledged that apology in its statement and insisted it would transfer the eatery the full sum raised by Owens at the time of the fundraiser’s cancellation.
George Floyd died in Minneapolis on Memorial Day after white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while arresting him for a suspected passing of a fake $20 bill.
His death has sparked passionate protests across the country, with demonstrators calling for police reform and an end to systemic racism.
Floyd's death has sparked passionate protests across the country, with demonstrators calling for police reform and an end to systemic racism
Dykes’ comments were made in a text message to a co-worker that was later leaked on social media, prompting three employees to quit and sparking outrage online, calling for the restaurant to be boycotted
Floyd has been hailed as a 'mentor to a generation of young men' and 'a de-facto community leader' - but Owens insists people aren't being honest about Floyd's entire backstory in an interview with radio host Glenn Beck on Friday.
‘George Floyd was not a good person. I don't care who wants to spin that, I don't care how CNN wants to make you think that he had just turned his life around,’ she said during the interview, which she later posted to Twitter.
Owens went on to reference the fact that Floyd had served five stints in jail - including one for aggravated assault stemming from a robbery in which he entered a pregnant woman's home, pointed a gun at her stomach and searched the premises for drugs and money.
'Was he really going to turn things around? It's just not true' Owens said of Floyd.
In the interview, Owens repeatedly referred to the pregnant woman who was assaulted by Floyd.
'This woman now has to watch him be help up as a hero. I can't even think about the trauma!'
President Trump later retweeted Glen Beck's post featuring the segment.
I don't care WHAT George Floyd did. The officer should have never treated him like that and killed him! But we still must ask: Is he a HERO? BLEXIT founder @RealCandaceO gave her thoughts: "The fact that he has been held up as a martyr sickens me."
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President Trump has retweeted the video of the controversial remarks Owens made in an interview
Earlier this week, Owens made similar statements in a video she shared to Facebook Live.
'We [black Americans] are unique in that we are the only people that fight and scream and demand support and justice for the people in our community who are up to no good,' she stated.
She said that no Jewish person, or Hispanic person, or white person would embrace someone who had done 'five stints in prison.'
'George Floyd was not an amazing person,' she told viewers.
'George Floyd, at the time of his arrest, was high on fentanyl and methamphetamine,' she stated.
She said her criticism was in no way defending what the lead officer Derek Chauvin did, by kneeing Floyd in the neck, until he was unresponsive.
On Thursday, The White House also came under fire for inviting Owens to a roundtable on race relations in the wake of her remarks.
Vice President Mike Pence hosted the discussion on Thursday.
Vice President Mike Pence (right) included black conservative activist Candace Owens (far left) in a discussion Thursday about the 'tragic death of George Floyd and the protests and rioting that have ensued'
Pence tweeted out that he had met with some black Americans - including Owens- and explained that the group had discussed 'how we can move our Nation forward in the wake of the tragic death of George Floyd and the protests and rioting that have ensued.'
Following her attendance at Thursday's White House roundtable, she sent out a tweet to her 2.2 million followers which stated: 'Black lives only matter to white liberals, every 4 years, ahead of an election. I'm so sorry to those of you that thought otherwise.'
Owens, the communications director for Turning Point USA, a pro-Trump youth group led by Charlie Kirk, has become a household name on the right for her controversial takes.
She hosts a popular podcast and boasts 2.2 million Twitter followers.
Back in April, she told her followers she was considering running for office. She did not specify where and when she will run.
Pro-Trump activist Candace Owens is banned from GoFundMe for spreading 'falsehoods against black community' after raising $205k for Alabama café whose owner called George Floyd a 'thug' (but the eatery can KEEP the money)
![Pro-Trump activist Candace Owens is banned from GoFundMe for spreading 'falsehoods against black community' after raising $205k for Alabama café whose owner called George Floyd a 'thug' (but the eatery can KEEP the money)]()
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