Big Tech Firm Makes Big Move Against Voter Fraud Whistleblower
A crowdfunding campaign for a United States Postal Service worker who signed an affidavit alleging voter fraud has been put on hold by GoFundMe, Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe said.
Richard Hopkins, a postal worker in Erie, Pennsylvania, said in a sworn affidavit that he had been ordered to turn in ballots collected after Election Day and deliver them to a supervisor. He then, according to his statement, said heard that supervisor planning to backdate those ballots so they would still be eligible to be counted in the hotly contested state.
According to O’Keefe, on Sunday, after the fundraiser had beaten its goals, GoFundMe put a hold on the funds, meaning Hopkins was ineligible to withdraw them.
“BREAKING: [GoFundMe] has flagged [USPS] Whistleblower Richard Hopkins campaign after raising nearly $120,000 in 24 hours,” O’Keefe said in a tweet Sunday.
“Your fundraiser is currently under review and withdrawals are on hold,” a screenshot he posted read.
BREAKING: @gofundme has flagged @USPS Whistleblower Richard Hopkins campaign after raising nearly $120,000 in 24 hours.
“Your fundraiser is currently under review and withdrawal are ON HOLD” #BackDateGate pic.twitter.com/p32YDPDbOc
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) November 8, 2020
The move was retweeted by Donald Trump Jr.
“They’re flagging a whistleblower?” the eldest son of President Donald Trump said Monday. “The same people that would do anything for whistleblowers who would come against conservatives regardless of credibility???
“You would think these woke people would want to protect all the whistleblowers but I guess it only goes one way.”
They’re flagging a whistleblower? The same people that would do anything for whistleblowers who would come against conservatives regardless of credibility???
WTF.? You would think these woke people would want to protect all the whistleblowers but I guess it only goes one way. https://t.co/S4GymDy5Av
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 10, 2020
They actually wouldn’t “want to protect all the whistleblowers,” given the implications of what Hopkins was alleging.
According to the sworn statement, Hopkins said he was directed to turn in ballots to his postmaster.
“Although, as I understand Pennsylvania law, ballots must be postmarked by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, November 3, 2020 in Pennsylvania, Postmaster Rob Weisenbach directed my co-workers and I to pick up ballots after Election Day and provide them to him,” the affidavit read.
Richard Hopkins affidavit by WIS Digital News Staff
“I heard Weisenbach tell a supervisor at my office that Weisenbach was back-dating the postmarks on the ballots to make it appear as though the ballots had been collected on November 3, 2020 despite them in fact being collected on November 4 and possibly later.”
“My understanding of Pennsylvania law is that ballots cannot be counted unless they were mailed by 08:00 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2020. Weinsbanch’s comments were deeply concerning to me and appeared to me to be an attempt… to improperly backdate ballots received after the legal deadline so those late ballots can be counted,” Hopkins continued.
Biden won Erie County by 1 percentage point.
On Tuesday — after the GoFundMe campaign was suspended — it was reported by The Washington Post that Hopkins had recanted his affidavit.
However, in a video statement posted by O’Keefe, Hopkins said he hadn’t recanted. He added that officials tried to pressure him to drop the story:
RECORDING: Federal agents “coerce” USPS whistleblower Hopkins to water down story. Hopkins doubles down…
Agent Strasser: “I am trying to twist you a little bit”
“I am scaring you here”…” we have Senators involved…DOJ involved…reason they called me is to try to harness.” pic.twitter.com/tK2JPu6Wqm
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) November 11, 2020
O’Keefe said Hopkins had been put on non-pay status by the Postal Service and posted a letter to prove it.
Richard Hopkins, a Combat Veteran and a marine with a daughter never asked to go public or for any of this. In the full interview released tomorrow, he said this harder than what he endured in Afghanistan.
The post office has placed him on non-pay status. pic.twitter.com/f054fa0D7I
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) November 11, 2020
GoFundMe has a history of interfering in fundraisers for seemingly political reasons, almost always with a liberal bent.
In June, the crowdfunding platform shut down a fundraiser started by conservative commentator Candace Owens for a business owner who faced boycotts because he called George Floyd a “thug” in private text messages with one of his employees.
GoFundMe also pulled a campaign for a police officer involved in a South Bend, Indiana, shooting despite the fact that the officer was eventually cleared. The claim, in that case, was that the campaign raised money “for legal defense where an individual has been killed.”
In Hopkins’ case, the documents he signed were legally binding and opened him to serious legal repercussions if he were lying. He’s apparently been placed on unpaid leave, although it’s not clear whether this was directly connected to the fact he came forward as a whistleblower.
This is dangerous territory for a Big Tech company to be entering — one in which the leader in online fundraising decides it conveniently has issues with the politics behind the campaign.
It might be more subtle than the kind of censorship we’ve seen from platforms such as Twitter and Google, but it should be no less concerning.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
