If you need another reason not to be a violent, far-right extremist, here’s one: It apparently doesn’t pay well.
Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson is using his fear-mongering group’s Facebook page to fundraise for a new car. On Wednesday, a link appeared on the page to a GoFundMe website titled “Help Joey Gibsons Family Get A Car.”
“11/6/2018 I got into an accident with my car that I just recently purchased,” reads the GoFundMe page, presumably set up by Gibson. “Please help my family get a new ride. Any donation amount is appreciated and will help. I do not have full coverage, only liability.”
As of around noon Friday, 23 people had donated, and Gibson had raised $2,250 of his $5,000 goal.
Here are some other causes that Gibson’s donors have contributed to on GoFundMe:
The “Trump Unity Bridge Tour,” whose stated goal is to “TO PRESERVE AMERICAN CULTURE !!!”
A fundraiser to replace the slashed tires of Donovan Flippo, who was arrested for disorderly conduct at a Patriot Prayer demonstration in Portland last year. Flippo claimed Antifa had slashed his tires, and asked for $1,500 to replace them.
And finally, we have “The Mariani Fall-Guy Fund,” supporting a former opinion editor for the conservative online rag The Daily Caller. Robert Mariani was fired from the Caller last year after running a piece by racist, transphobic troll Milo Yiannapolis, who had also recently come under fire for appearing to support pederasty in an old interview.
When someone goes viral these days, it’s common for them to tweet out a link to their Patreon account or GoFundMe page. The lucky ones might even get a sponsored content deal pushing sketchy fitness tea on Instagram. If Gibson is as short on cash as his GoFundMe suggests, perhaps he can follow the likes of Alex Jones and Sarah Palin and become a spokesmodel for survivalist bullshit and third-tier “wellness” products.
That tactic might play out a little better than out-right asking for money. At least one self-acclaimed Patriot Prayer fathful isn’t a fan of the GoFundMe link.
“I totally believe in Patriot Prayer and their message,” Facebook user Kathy Ferrel commented on the link. “However, to use that to ask for money for your personal property seems like an abuse. If you want to gamble and not buy insurance, then you should pay the price.”
Ferrel’s got a point—shouldn’t Gibson be pulling himself up by his own bootstraps?
A white man begging for financial assistance? Must be faKKKe news fer sure. Will he vet all the donors to make sure they are 100% Aryan?
UGH I made the mistake of looking at the GoFundMe page. He has children? They need to be removed from his care immediately. His white supremacist hate and violence is child abuse. Those children need to be saved.
Joey’s a state government employee and with all the perks he gets, he can’t afford a car? He bought a new car but only had liability? Well, once he retires and gets his taxpayer-funded lifetime PERS benefits, he’ll be riding high!
@3 he lives in WA not OR
I would like to ask “Facebook user Kathy Ferrel” why she thinks anything associated with this group should be logically or morally consistent.