The MMA community has rallied around former champion Cain Velasquez who is currently in jail awaiting trial following a shooting earlier this month. Velasquez was arrested after he chased, rammed his car and then opened fire into a truck that was holding a man accused of molesting a 4-year-old boy. The bullet did not hit the intended target, instead, it struck the man’s father.
Following the arrest, fans came together to create two separate GoFundMe to help support his legal fees.
That account has since been removed and the website issued a statement in response to the removal.
“We can confirm that both fundraisers were removed, and all donors have been refunded,” a GoFundMe spokesperson told MMA Junkie. “GoFundMe prohibits raising money for the legal defense of a violent crime.”
According to MMA Junkie, this is not uncommon.
“The same policy has been applied to past high-profile defense cases. In 2015, GoFundMe removed a campaign for police officers involved in the trials after the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. In 2020, it shut down campaigns for Kenosha, Wisc. shooter Kyle Rittenhouse. After Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all counts of homicide, campaigns supporting him were reallowed,” the outlet reported.
On Monday Velasquez was denied bail and remains in jail.
GoFundMe removes campaign to support Cain Velasquez’s legal defense
