CA, WA Order BLM To Cease Fundraising, Threaten Legal Action Over Missing Financial Records

The leaders of Black Lives Matter (BLM) have been ordered by two states to suspend fundraising operations due to concerns about how such payments are being handled.

According to The Washington Examiner, the states of California and Washington, both of which are predominantly Democratic, wrote letters to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc. last month, threatening the group with legal action over suspected breaches of financial reporting laws.

Since its inception in 2007, the BLM Global Network Foundation has received tens of millions of dollars in donations from individuals and organizations all across the world. The organization received more than $90 million in donations in 2020, the year when riots and protests occurred in response to the killing of George Floyd. The organization has faced backlash from local leaders who suspect the group has been too secretive about where the money is going.

Earlier this month, the California Department of Justice wrote a letter to BLM, threatening to hold the organization’s leadership accountable if $60 million in donations received were not properly recorded within 60 days. The letter said, “The organization BLACK LIVES MATTER GLOBAL NETWORK FOUNDATION, INC. is delinquent with The Registry of Charitable Trusts for failing to submit required annual report(s).”

A few weeks earlier on January 5th, the Washington Secretary of State Corporations and Charities Division also sent a letter to the BLM national group threatening a $2,000 fine for each donation it receives in the state before they provide detailed records on the organization’s finances.

“Please note that a violation of the Act is also a violation of the consumer Protection Act … and could result in the imposition of injunctions and civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation,” the letter said, according to The Examiner. “Any organization that solicits and/or collects contributions in violation of the Act and CPA will be reported to the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division for further action.”

Both states prohibited the group from soliciting and accepting donations from citizens of their respective states until the group’s financial reports were received. According to The Examiner, the BLM group is also in violation of charity laws in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Virginia.

According to reports, the BLM national organization has been without a permanent leader for some months. Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of the group, resigned from the national organization in May as a result of the backlash from her $3.2 million spending spree on real estate.  Cullors stated that activists Makani Themba and Monifa Bandele would take over as senior directors of the organization following her retirement. However, according to The Examiner, Themba and Bandele revealed in September that they never accepted the positions because of disagreements with BLM.

The BLM Global Network Foundation has long been the target of vehement criticism from grassroots groups affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement. Local activists have claimed that the national organization has failed to distribute money from its funding to grassroots organizations.

A joint statement issued by a coalition of BLM grassroots organizations in November 2020 said, “Since the establishment of BLMGN, our chapters have consistently raised concerns about financial transparency, decision making, and accountability. Despite years of effort, no acceptable internal process of accountability has ever been produced by BLMGN and these recent events have undermined the efforts of chapters seeking to democratize its processes and resources.”

Stay tuned to The Scoop for any updates.