WAUKESHA, WI. (THECOUNT) — A GoFundMe page hoping to raise $5 million bail for Wisconsin man, Darrell Brooks Jr., accused of plowing his SUV through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, has been pulled from the platform.
According to screen captures, the fundraising effort setup on Brooks’ behalf, was posted by a person going by the name James Norton. The page insisted Brooks was a victim of a “racist” justice system and used hashtags including #RacismIsReal and #BLM.
|
Advertisement |
“On November 21st, 2021 our dear friend Darrell Brooks was arrested for allegedly driving his car into a parade, as someone who knows Darrell personally I can tell you that he would NEVER do such a thing and I know he is innocent of what he was charged with,” Norton wrote, per the screen grabs.
“Clearly there is more to the story the media is not telling us and I am seeking to raise the bail so Darrell can be released and speak his truth to his side of the story in this tragic situation that sees another black man behind bars in a purely political and racist trial.”
The fundraiser organizer went on to write that there is “no excuse for this continued treatment of black Americans by prosecutors around the country.”
A spokesperson for GoFundMe on Wednesday confirmed to Fox Business that the page has since been removed from the platform. The person attempting to raise money for Brooks has also been banned from using GoFundMe for future fundraisers.
Brooks was charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide following the holiday event on Sunday. Five people were pronounced dead on the scene while a sixth victim, 8-year-old Jackson Sparks, died days later in an area hospital.
DEVELOPING::