Ep 171 Financing the Ottawa Occupation

**Note: This podcast was recorded before the news that GoFundMe shut downpayments to the Convoy organizers. As noted in the podcast, organizers have other options to raise funds. We'll look to update listeners on these developments sometimes next week.**

As we recorded this episode, the streets of Ottawa were occupied with trucks from a so-called “Freedom Convoy” that claims to be about mandates, but in reality has extremist origins. With non-stop honking, intimidation of those who seek to follow public health guidance and signs invoking conspiracy theories and hate groups, the residents of Ottawa overwhelmingly would like the this “Convoy” to leave. While the police do not seem to be able to do much, the “Truckers” are, at least in part, relying on a $10 million dollar war chest of money raised through GoFundMe, a crowdsourcing platform.

This raises all kinds of questions about how these activities are being financed. Is it okay for political movements, with ties to extremists, to raise funds in this way? Who is responsible for investigating the money raised? Will the funds even be dispersed? Is there a threat of clandestine foreign interference?

To discuss these issues and more, Stephanie sits down with Intrepid Podcast member Jessica Davis, President of Insight Threat Intelligence, and author of Illicit Money: Financing Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century (2021). This podcast was recorded on February 4, 2022.