The Christian crowdfunding website used to gather funds for the “Freedom Convoy” trucker-led demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions in Canada has been taken down after information about donors was leaked.
Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDOS), a nonprofit whistleblower site, shared on Sunday that it had acquired information about donors who used the GiveSendGo website to contribute to the Freedom Convoy, including self-reported names, email addresses and zip codes.
Due to the personal information that is included in the data, DDOS said it would be offering the data only to journalists and researchers.
As of Thursday afternoon, GiveSendGo is still offline. A message on the webpage said it was undergoing “maintenance and server upgrades.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday that he planned to use emergency powers to put an end to the demonstrations that are affecting the country’s economy.
“The blockades are harming our economy and endangering public safety,” Trudeau said during a news conference. “We cannot and will not allow illegal and dangerous activities to continue.”
He threatened to put a freeze on the personal bank accounts of anyone involved in the blockades and protests and said police would be given “more tools” to handle the protesters, though he stated that the military would not get involved.
“The illegal blockades have been disrupting the lives of too many Canadians here in our capital city families, small businesses have been enduring illegal obstruction of our neighborhoods. Occupying streets, harassing people, breaking the law — this is not a peaceful protest,” Trudeau said.
“At the border in different parts of our country the blockades are harming our economy and endangering public safety,” he added. “Critical supply chains have been disrupted. This is hurting workers who rely on these jobs to feed their families.”
Truckers participating in the Freedom Convoy blocked border crossings between the U.S. and Canada, including the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit. The bridge was later reopened after authorities arrested more than two dozen protesters.
The protest has received support from right-wing figures in the U.S., including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who said he was “all for it” last week.
Popular crowdfunding platform GoFundMe canceled a fundraiser for the Freedom Convoy, prompting House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) to call on House Democrats to hold a hearing on what they characterized as GoFundMe’s selective discrimination.