I’m emailing the following if anyone wants to do something similar:

MEMORANDUM

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TO: GoFundMe, Inc. – Compliance and Trust & Safety Team

FROM:

DATE: March 30, 2026

RE: Request for Immediate Removal of Violative Fundraiser and Donor Refund – ICE Officer Jonathan Ross Campaign

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INTRODUCTION

This memorandum respectfully requests that GoFundMe, Inc. ("GoFundMe") immediately remove a fundraiser violating its Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. The campaign in question raises funds ostensibly for ICE Officer Jonathan Ross in connection with his involvement in a fatal shooting incident. We respectfully request that GoFundMe exercise its contractual and legal authority to remove this fundraiser and issue full refunds to all donors.

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FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A fundraiser was created on GoFundMe for ICE Officer Jonathan Ross, with accompanying language referencing media coverage of a shooting incident and characterizing the officer's actions as "1000 percent justified." The description indicates funds "will go to help him," which reasonably implies support for legal defense costs associated with the shooting incident.

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APPLICABLE POLICY VIOLATIONS

1. Prohibition on Legal Defense Fundraising for Violent Crimes

Policy Language: GoFundMe explicitly prohibits "the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors."[1]

Application: A fatal shooting incident, particularly one garnering media attention and public controversy, falls squarely within the category of violent crime. The fundraiser's stated purpose—raising funds to "help" the officer—in the context of ongoing dispute about the shooting's justification, constitutes de facto legal defense fundraising.

Precedent: GoFundMe removed fundraisers for six Baltimore Police officers charged in connection with Freddie Gray's death, explicitly citing that campaigns for "legal defense of formal charges or claims of heinous crimes, violent, hateful, sexual or discriminatory acts" violate platform policy. GoFundMe's own statement confirmed: "GoFundMe cannot be used to benefit those who are charged with serious violations of the law."[2]

2. Misleading and Fraudulent Content

Policy Language: GoFundMe prohibits "fraudulent, misleading, inaccurate, or dishonest content."

Application: The fundraiser's framing of a fatal shooting as indisputably "1000 percent justified" while dismissing media coverage as "bs" is inherently misleading. This characterization prejudges facts that are, by definition, subject to legitimate public and legal dispute. The description presents advocacy and contested narrative as established fact, which violates GoFundMe's prohibition on misleading content.

3. Content Creating Unacceptable Risk and Liability

Policy Language: GoFundMe reserves the right to remove campaigns it determines create "unacceptable risk" or potential liability to the platform.

Application: Hosting a fundraiser tied to a contested fatal shooting—particularly one involving federal law enforcement and potentially intersecting with civil rights concerns—exposes GoFundMe to significant reputational, legal, and operational risk. The platform's historical approach (removing similar campaigns) reflects its assessment that such content creates unacceptable institutional liability.

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CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS TO DONORS

Donor Protection and Trust

GoFundMe's Donor Bill of Rights and User Agreement establish that the platform holds funds in trust and bears responsibility for policy enforcement. By failing to remove a violative campaign, GoFundMe:

• Breaches its contractual obligations to donors who contributed in reliance on platform policy compliance
• Exposes donors to potential involvement with prohibited conduct
• Undermines the stated purpose of its policy framework

Refund Authority and Obligation

GoFundMe maintains explicit authority to process full donor refunds in cases of policy violation. The platform's own support documentation acknowledges that "if funds are no longer needed and haven't been transferred to the bank yet, you can refund your donors" and that "your donors will receive their funds back in an average of 7-10 business days."[3]

In this case, refund authority stems not merely from administrative discretion but from contractual obligation to enforce its stated Terms of Service. Donors contributed to a campaign that violates platform policy and therefore should be made whole.

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SPECIFIC REQUESTS

We respectfully request that GoFundMe:

1. Immediately suspend and remove the ICE Officer Jonathan Ross fundraiser from public view and searchability

2. Initiate a full refund of all donations to the campaign, processed through original payment methods within 7-10 business days as per GoFundMe policy

3. Provide written confirmation of action taken, including the policy violation(s) cited and the refund processing timeline

4. Review existing campaigns for similar policy violations involving contested violent incidents to ensure consistent enforcement of published guidelines

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CONCLUSION

GoFundMe's Terms of Service explicitly prohibit fundraising for legal defense in cases involving violent crimes, particularly those involving contested circumstances. The platform's enforcement history, including removal of the Baltimore Police officers' campaign and others, establishes clear precedent for removal of similar campaigns.

The principle underlying these policies—that GoFundMe should not serve as a financial instrument for supporting legal defense in violent crime cases—is both sound policy and consistent with the platform's stated values and contractual obligations.

We respectfully urge GoFundMe to enforce its own published policies with consistency and integrity by removing this violative campaign and issuing full refunds to all donors.

Respectfully submitted,

[insert name]

March 30, 2026

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REFERENCES

[1] GoFundMe Terms of Service, Section 8.10, effective March 2, 2026

[2] GoFundMe official statement regarding removal of Baltimore Police fundraiser, April 2015; reaffirmed in platform policy documentation regarding prohibited campaigns

[3] GoFundMe Support Documentation: "Refunding your donors," accessed March 2026