By Christopher Bing and Anna Mehler Paperny
WASHINGTON/TORONTO (Reuters) -The leak website Distributed Denial of Secrets on Tuesday said it has posted more donor files from the fundraising platform GiveSendGo relating to the Canadian movement of people opposed to pandemic health measures, including COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
On Sunday, the DDoS website, which is devoted to disseminating leaked data, said it was releasing donor information relating to the “Freedom Convoy 2022” campaign, which raised more than $2 million in donations. It includes funds raised from several Canadian business owners.
Tuesday’s leak contains donor information about a similar “Adopt-a-Trucker” campaign, which says it is operating “in partnership with the Freedom Convoy.” The Adopt-a-Trucker effort appeared to raise less money and involved fewer donors.
The funding of the Canadian protests has emerged as a key point of interest as authorities in Ottawa and elsewhere try to get a grip on rallies led by truckers since late January that have blockaded cities and border crossings across Canada with demands that include deposing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
GiveSendGo did not immediately respond to a request for comment about any hack or the status of its campaigns.
The Sunday data from the U.S.-based Christian fundraising site included names, email addresses, ZIP codes and internet protocol addresses. Tuesday’s leak offered similar material in addition to payment details, based on a review of the data.
The new GiveSendGo data also came from a “hack” according to DDoS, which did not provide further information. The Adopt-a-Trucker campaign has pulled in nearly $600,000, according to GiveSendGo.
DDoS said that because the donor information contained sensitive personal information, it would not be making the data available publicly but would instead be offering it to journalists and researchers.
DDoS describes itself as a nonprofit devoted to enabling the free transmission of data in the public interest.
GiveSendGo became a prime conduit for money to the protesters after mainstream crowdfunding platform GoFundMe blocked donations to the self-declared Freedom Convoy. Earlier this month the group said it had raised $8 million for the protests.
The Ontario government obtained an injunction last week freezing GiveSendGo’s “Freedom Convoy 2022” and “Adopt-A-Trucker” campaign funds. [L1N2UL3GW] GiveSendGo said at the time it was not subject to Canadian law and continued to fundraise.
Brad Howland, president of EasyKleen Pressure Systems Ltd, which is headquartered in New Brunswick and manufactures high-pressure cleaning systems, donated $75,000 to GiveSendGo’s “Freedom Convoy” on Feb. 9, according to leaked information confirmed by Reuters.
In a statement sent by a company spokesperson, Howland confirmed his support for the convoy, saying he wants the government to remove mandates “to restore all our freedoms.”
“We drove to Ottawa this weekend and witnessed the protest for ourselves,” the statement reads in part. “They have a beautiful, legal, peaceful protest that overwhelmed us with emotion. To see the love, peace, and unity that many of us
have longed for, for a long time – It was an experience of a lifetime.”
Holden Rhodes, a London, Ontario-based lawyer and mountain resort owner, confirmed in an email to Reuters that he and his wife donated $25,000 to the Freedom Convoy. It was the among the highest value donations from Canada.
“Without freedom, we have nothing. … That is why I am doing what I am doing,” said Rhodes, adding Ontario’s decision on Monday to remove proof-of-vaccination requirements and other restrictions early is proof the movement has succeeded.
(Reporting by Christopher Bing in Washington, Anna Mehler Paperney in Toronto and Julie Gordon in Ottawa; Writing by Chris Sanders; Editing by Franklin Paul, Jonathan Oatis and Marguerita Choy)
