Black Lives Matter has ceased all fundraising following a Washington Examiner investigation that showed that BLM has had no known leader in charge of its $60 million bankroll since its co-founder resigned in May. The fundraising shutdown comes just days after California threatened to hold BLM leaders personally liable over the organization’s lack of transparency concerning finances.
In what may be one of the greatest grifts in modern times, BLM raised $60 million by stirring up racial strife nearly every time a black criminal died. Tens of millions of that vast sum was raised during the BLM rioting and looting in the wake of the death of career criminal George Floyd. It was an orchestrated scam: A criminal (who just happened to be black) would die in an altercation with police, then BLM would make a martyr of that criminal and instigate riots and looting. And then BLM would raise money for “racial justice” by pushing a narrative that police are the enforcement arm of “systemic racism.” And the mainstream liberal media were their constant allies, filling news feeds and air time with what amounted to infomercials for BLM.
And while many accused BLM all along of being a grift, the liberal mainstream media again came to the aid of their comrades-in-arms, painting a glowing picture of BLM’s “fight for racial justice.” Even when BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors was found to be living lavishly off of the millions BLM was raking in from fomenting racial strife — purchasing multiple mansions, among other extravagances — liberal mainstream media continued to run interference. But late last month, the Washington Examiner published a piece of true investigative journalism, which showed — as the headline stated — BLM’s millions unaccounted for after leaders quietly jumped ship.
According to that report:
No one appears to have been in charge at Black Lives Matter for months. The address it lists on tax forms is wrong, and the charity’s two board members won’t say who controls its $60 million bankroll, a Washington Examiner investigation has found.
BLM’s shocking lack of transparency surrounding its finances and operations raises major legal and ethical red flags, multiple charity experts told the Washington Examiner.
That article quotes CharityWatch Executive Director Laurie Styron as describing BLM thus: “Like a giant ghost ship full of treasure drifting in the night with no captain, no discernible crew, and no clear direction.”
Styron’s claim that there is “no captain” is not hyperbole; as that report states:
BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors appointed two activists to serve as the group’s senior directors following her resignation in May amid scrutiny over her personal finances. But both quietly announced in September that they never took the jobs due to disagreements with BLM. They told the Washington Examiner they don’t know who now leads the nation’s most influential social justice organization.
Further, as a result of the lack of anything resembling accountability or transparency (BLM is about as transparent as a brick wall), Paul Kamenar, counsel for conservative watchdog group National Legal and Policy Center, told the Washington Examiner that a full audit and investigation into Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is in order. He said it is “grossly irregular and improper for a nonprofit with $60 million in its coffers” to be run this way.
Following that investigative report, both California and Washington ordered BLM to cease all fundraising activities in their states. This is surprising, coming from two of the bluest states on the political map, but 2022 is — after all — an election year in which polls continue to show the American people increasingly at odds with the Democrat establishment and the social and cultural direction in which Democrats have dragged America. In a new development, the Washington Examiner reported that besides California joining Washington in barring BLM from fundraising, the Left Coast People’s Republic also “threatened to hold the charity’s leaders personally liable over its lack of financial transparency.”
As that new article explains:
Black Lives Matter shut down all of its online fundraising streams late Wednesday afternoon, just days after California threatened to hold the charity’s leaders personally liable over its lack of financial transparency.
And so, just like that, BLM has shut down its money machine. The article states, “The donation button that used to be featured prominently on BLM’s website was nowhere to be found as of Wednesday evening.”
But before we all breathe a sigh of relief and retort, “It couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch of people,” let’s reflect that while BLM — and its legal entity, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF) — are run by people who are obviously criminals, it does not appear they are run by idiots. After all, they managed to orchestrate and execute a massive grift involving useful-idiot foot soldiers, violence, liberal mainstream media darlinghood, and endorsements from major politicians — all while raking in at least $60 million.
They may have ostensibly shut down fundraising as of late Wednesday afternoon, but don’t let that fool you. As the Washington Examiner reported:
“We take these matters seriously and have taken immediate action,” an unidentified spokesperson for the BLMGNF told the Washington Examiner. “We have immediately engaged compliance counsel to address any issues related to state fundraising compliance. In the interim, we have shut down online fundraising as we work quickly to ensure we are meeting all compliance requirements.”
Like bad luggage and herpes, it seems you just can’t get rid of BLM. The criminal organization that orchestrated riots, burning, and looting across more than 200 American cities during the Summer of Terror already seems to be planning a comeback. Furthermore, while the California Department of Justice told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that “BLMGNF is prohibited from soliciting donations so long as its status is listed as delinquent,” BLM accepted a $1 donation from a Washington Examiner reporter based in California on Wednesday morning before shutting down the “donation” feature later that afternoon. So it appears that “compliance” with fundraising laws is right below “compliance” with laws regarding arson, intimidation, looting, and general thuggery in BLM’s list of priorities.
BLM has spent the entirety of its existence demonstrating that trifling little matters such as law, logic, morality, honesty, justice, and black lives — which it claims to represent — mean nothing to the organization. What appears to matter a great deal to Black Lives Matter is money. And BLM has plenty of that, though it is all ill-gotten, and — mark this — it will do anything it needs to to protect that money and rake in even more.
But, with even liberal states turning against BLM, it remains to be seen whether the organization can keep on keeping on. As the Washington Examiner reported, even besides California and Washington, states are taking notice and may even consider BLM to be a criminal organization or “illegal enterprise.” From that report:
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita previously said BLM’s refusal to answer basic questions about its finances and operations fits a common and disturbing pattern.
“It appears that the house of cards may be falling, and this happens eventually with nearly every scam, scheme, or illegal enterprise,” Rokita, a Republican, said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “I see patterns that scams kind of universally take: failure to provide board members, failure to provide even executive directors, failure to make your filings available. It all leads to suspicion.”
Rokita said he would not confirm or deny that his office is investigating BLM, but he said the Washington Examiner’s reporting on the group “certainly cause us to be concerned.”
BLM’s charity registration is also out of compliance in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Virginia.
And:
The California DOJ said Wednesday afternoon that it would not confirm or deny an investigation into BLM so as to “protect its integrity.”
If states — even blue states — are beginning to question BLM and consider investigations, it may only be a matter of time before BLM’s “leaders” are held accountable. After all, BLM wouldn’t be the first criminal organization to fall because of financial crimes, even after getting away with violent crimes. Until then, though — and perhaps even then — one can expect the liberal mainstream media and prominent extreme leftist Democrats to continue carrying BLM’s water.
