PayPal announced Monday it has terminated its relationship with the Christian crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo, a site used last week by supporters who attended the pro-Trump rally in Washington, D.C., that devolved into a violent insurrection inside the U.S. Capitol.
The digital payment apparatus told Reuters it has also suspended the account held by far-right activist Ali Alexander, one of the organizers behind the “Stop the Steal” movement arguing President Donald Trump rightfully won the November election.
It’s worth noting the platform has been used by some bad actors, including the leader of the extremist group Proud Boys. Enrique Tarrio, arrested in Washington, D.C., in early January for allegedly burning a Black Lives Matter banner in front of a church, used GiveSendGo, where he raised more than $90,000, apparently for his own legal defense, according to Rolling Stone.
Fringe supporters of Trump breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, sparking a violent mob that ultimately led to six deaths, including a Capitol Police officer.
On Wednesday, Democrats began holding hearings in the House of Representatives over a second attempt to impeach Trump, whom many have argued is responsible — at least partially — for the deadly melee.
GiveSendGo has not yet broken its silence over the decision by PayPal. However, the Twitter account associated with GiveSendGo has spoken out about the “hate mail” it has received, seemingly as a result of those who have used the crowdsourcing site.
GiveSendGo describes itself as “a place to fund hope,” adding the platform is “a place to work together with the body of Christ around the world to make a difference.”
PayPal’s move to sever ties with GiveSendGo comes amid a Big Tech crackdown against conservatives.
Last week, Twitter permanently suspended Trump’s account and Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his platform has “indefinitely” banned the president from posting to his account. Additionally, Amazon’s web hosting service broke its contract with the conservative social media site Parler, essentially removing the platform from the internet. The decision by Amazon came after both the Apple App Store and Google Play removed Parler from their respective platforms.
As CBN News reported Wednesday, YouTube, which is owned by Google, has also joined the clampdown, suspending the president’s account for at least seven days.