A GoFundMe Campaign for ICE Agent Accused of Killing Black Woman Remains Online Despite Violating the Platform's Rules.
The crowdfunding platform, GoFundMe, has allowed a fundraising campaign tied to the potential legal defense of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who fatally shot a civilian to remain online, despite company rules barring fundraisers connected to violent crimes and past enforcement actions against similar campaigns.
The fundraiser, titled “ICE OFFICER Jonathan Ross,” seeks at least $550,000 to support potential legal expenses for the ICE agent identified as having shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three and widow of a military veteran, during an encounter with immigration agents in Minneapolis. The officer was first identified as Jonathan Ross, 43, by the Minnesota Star Tribune.
The GoFundMe campaign's stated purpose—raising money for legal services following a killing—directly conflicts with GoFundMe’s terms of service, which specifically bars fundraisers that are intended to support the legal defense of people accused of financial or violent crimes. The platform has not publicly explained why the Ross fundraiser remains active despite its terms of service stating users agree not to “use the Service or Platform to raise funds” for the “the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors.”
Ross has not been formally charged with any crime. The shooting is being investigated exclusively by the FBI after federal authorities effectively blocked Minnesota investigators from participating, prompting the state attorney general and Hennepin County attorney to launch a parallel effort to collect evidence independently.
In an email, a GoFundMe spokesperson told WIRED on Sunday night that it was in the process of reviewing all fundraisers tied to the shooting. “During the review process, all funds remain safely held by our payment processors,” the spokesperson said. “GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers that raise money for the legal defense of anyone formally charged with a violent crime. Any campaigns that violate this policy will be removed.”
The crowdfunding platform, GoFundMe, has allowed a fundraising campaign tied to the potential legal defense of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who fatally shot a civilian to remain online, despite company rules barring fundraisers connected to violent crimes and past enforcement actions against similar campaigns.
The fundraiser, titled “ICE OFFICER Jonathan Ross,” seeks at least $550,000 to support potential legal expenses for the ICE agent identified as having shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three and widow of a military veteran, during an encounter with immigration agents in Minneapolis. The officer was first identified as Jonathan Ross, 43, by the Minnesota Star Tribune.
The GoFundMe campaign's stated purpose—raising money for legal services following a killing—directly conflicts with GoFundMe’s terms of service, which specifically bars fundraisers that are intended to support the legal defense of people accused of financial or violent crimes. The platform has not publicly explained why the Ross fundraiser remains active despite its terms of service stating users agree not to “use the Service or Platform to raise funds” for the “the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors.”
Ross has not been formally charged with any crime. The shooting is being investigated exclusively by the FBI after federal authorities effectively blocked Minnesota investigators from participating, prompting the state attorney general and Hennepin County attorney to launch a parallel effort to collect evidence independently.
In an email, a GoFundMe spokesperson told WIRED on Sunday night that it was in the process of reviewing all fundraisers tied to the shooting. “During the review process, all funds remain safely held by our payment processors,” the spokesperson said. “GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers that raise money for the legal defense of anyone formally charged with a violent crime. Any campaigns that violate this policy will be removed.”
- it's crazy how GoFundMe is still letting this campaign run, even though it goes against their own rules... like what's the point of having those rules if they're just gonna get ignored? 
Interesting 
! So, there's this fundraiser on GoFundMe for an ICE agent who shot and killed some lady in Minneapolis... like, what even is the goal of this campaign? Are people really just gonna support a guy who's suspected of murder without him being charged or anything? It seems kinda fishy to me 
. I mean, I get that people wanna help each other out, but this just feels like it's playing with fire 
. GoFundMe says they're reviewing all these fundraisers and will take them down if they break the rules, but why is one of 'em still up? Is everyone just ignoring the fine print? 
. But what's the real cost here? Is it just a few dollars or lives are at stake? I don't think any of us would want our loved ones targeted by ICE agents if we didn't speak out. We need more accountability from these platforms, not less 
. And what about Renee Good's family? Don't they deserve justice too?
despite it being super clear that the whole thing is about supporting an ice agent who killed a black woman. like, what even is the point of having rules if you're just gonna let them slip? and whats with the fact that ross hasn't been charged yet? seems like a pretty obvious case to me... maybe they should focus on getting evidence instead of trying to raise money for his defense 
, i mean, what's the point of having rules if you're not gonna enforce them? at least someone should be calling out gofundme on this one. it's just a case of they don't wanna get involved and risk losing users over it, but that's not fair to the innocent woman who lost her life.
And the fact that they're not explicitly removing it yet? That's just kinda weird. I mean, I get that the officer hasn't been charged with anything yet, but come on... 
At the end of the day, it's still a fundraiser for someone accused of murder... and we all know how those things can go down in a hurry 
. Anyway, I'm keeping an eye on this one - will be interesting to see what happens next 
. This whole thing is just so messed up. I mean, what's next? Are we gonna start crowdfunding for people who've committed serious crimes like murder or assault? It's not right that GoFundMe is letting this fundraiser keep going despite clearly breaking their own rules 
. And can we talk about how frustrating it is when these platforms just let things slide because they're too busy making money? It feels like GoFundMe's got its priorities all wrong 
Anyway, can you imagine the party that's gonna be at the ICE agent's house when they finally get charged and all those donations come flooding in? 
I guess this is what they mean by "the American system" right? 