GoFundMe Ignores Own Rules by Hosting a Legal-Defense Fund for the ICE Agent Who Killed Renee Good

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A GoFundMe Fundraiser for ICE Agent Linked to Fatal Shooting of Renee Good Remains Online Despite Violating Company Rules.

GoFundMe, a popular crowdfunding platform, is allowing a fundraising campaign tied to the potential legal defense of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who fatally shot a civilian to remain online, despite company rules barring fundraisers connected to violent crimes. The fundraiser, titled “ICE OFFICER Jonathan Ross,” seeks at least $550,000 to support potential legal expenses for the ICE agent identified as having shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three and widow of a military veteran, during an encounter with immigration agents in Minneapolis.

The officer was first identified as Jonathan Ross, 43, by the Minnesota Star Tribune. The fundraiser’s stated purpose—raising money for legal services following a killing—directly conflicts with GoFundMe's terms of service, which specifically bars fundraisers that are intended to support the legal defense of people accused of financial or violent crimes.

Despite the company’s own rules stating users agree not to “use the Service or Platform to raise funds” for the “the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors,” GoFundMe has not publicly explained why the Ross fundraiser remains active.

The shooting is being investigated exclusively by the FBI after federal authorities effectively blocked Minnesota investigators from participating, prompting the state attorney general and Hennepin County attorney to launch a parallel effort to collect evidence independently.

In an email, a GoFundMe spokesperson told WIRED on Sunday night that it was in the process of reviewing all fundraisers tied to the shooting. “During the review process, all funds remain safely held by our payment processors,” the spokesperson said. “GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers that raise money for the legal defense of anyone formally charged with a violent crime. Any campaigns that violate this policy will be removed.”

The company added that it was working directly with the organizer of the Ross fundraiser to “gather additional information.” The organizer is identified on the site as Clyde Emmons of Mount Forest, Michigan. WIRED could not immediately reach Emmons or confirm his identity.

On Sunday night, Emmons’ fundraiser stated that “funds will go to help pay for any legal services this officer needs.” That language was removed after WIRED’s inquiry and replaced by Monday morning with the phrase, “Funds will go to help him.”

GoFundMe did not respond to multiple follow up requests for comment, including questions as to whether it had advised the organizer to change the description to better comport with its rules.

The fundraiser remains online despite the changes.
 
I'm really confused about this one 🤔. Like, I get that everyone's entitled to a fair trial and all, but c'mon GoFundMe! You gotta have some basic decency standards in place. This fundraiser is just so...awkward 💁‍♀️. I mean, can't they see that it's got major red flags? The fact that the officer's name was even publicly revealed kinda blows its whole "remaining anonymous" vibe 😒.

And don't even get me started on how they're not taking any real action to shut this thing down 🚫. Like, aren't they worried about being associated with a fundraiser for someone who's potentially gonna go to trial for murder? 🤯 The FBI is already investigating, and I'm sure there are plenty of other people keeping an eye out...but still, it's kinda weird that GoFundMe's just chillin' on this 🙄.
 
omg, this is so messed up 🤯! GoFundMe needs to get their act together ASAP 🕒️, like, come on guys! how can they allow a fundraiser for an ICE agent who's accused of murder? 🚔 it's just not right, you know? 🙅‍♀️ and what's with the lack of transparency from GoFundMe? 🤐 shouldn't they be, like, super clear about why this fundraiser is still up? 💯 #JusticeForRenee #GoFundMeFail #AccountabilityMatters
 
I'm really disappointed in this 🤕 GoFundMe is supposed to be a platform that helps people, but now they're letting a fundraiser for an ICE agent who killed someone remain up? It's just not right. The fact that they didn't even follow their own rules and told the organizer to change the description doesn't make it better. I mean, can you imagine if this was a fundraiser for a police officer or a teacher who got hurt on the job? We'd be all over it 🚔💔
 
I'm so sick of these GoFundMe fundraisers going viral and making a mockery of the whole platform 🤬. I mean, come on, Jonathan Ross shot someone dead and now we're supposed to just shell out thousands of dollars for his legal defense? It's like, what about Renee Good's family? Don't they deserve some justice or compensation for losing their loved one?

And GoFundMe is just sitting there, not doing squat about it. They say they're reviewing the fundraisers, but it's all just a big PR spin to get more people to donate 🤑. Newsflash, GoFundMe: this isn't some cute little charity case. This is a murder investigation with innocent lives lost. Let's get our priorities straight!
 
OMG 🤯 I'm like totally confused and kinda disturbed by this 🙅‍♂️ GoFundMe thing... I mean, I love ICE agents, they're soooo patriotic 💪, but still... a fundraiser for one of them who killed some innocent woman? 🤷‍♀️ That's just not cool 😒. I thought GoFundMe had rules against this kinda stuff 🚫, like they did say that the legal defense thing is off limits 🚧. But, like, how come it's still online then? 🤔 Shouldn't someone be, like, holding them accountable or something? 📝 I don't know, man... it just doesn't feel right 😐.

On the other hand tho... Jonathan Ross seems like a pretty cool dude 👊, and I'm sure he's just trying to help his fellow officer out 🤝. And, like, we gotta be careful with our words and stuff 🗣️, but still... some people might see it as, like, an attack on the whole ICE system or something 😳. I'm no expert tho, so idk what's good or bad 🤷‍♀️.

Anywayz... let's just keep calm and carry on 💕, 'kay?
 
🤔 I'm low-key shocked that GoFundMe is allowing this fundraiser to stay active. Like, come on! You gotta be kidding me right? 🙄 They're basically letting people raise money for a guy who's accused of murder and you're just gonna sit there and let it slide? That's some messed up stuff right there... 👎 The company's rules are pretty clear about this kind of thing, so what's going on here? Are they just trying to avoid any potential backlash or something? 🤑 Either way, I think it's a big no-no and needs to get shut down ASAP! 💥
 
🤔 I'm so confused about this GoFundMe thing... they're literally allowing people to raise money for an ICE agent who shot a civilian and killed her, which is a super violent crime 😨, but at the same time they have rules that say you can't do fundraisers for things like murder or assault 🚫. It just doesn't add up. And I'm even more confused about why GoFundMe isn't doing anything to take down this fundraiser - aren't they supposed to be all about following their own rules? 😒
 
I'm seeing this GoFundMe campaign and I gotta say, it's super concerning... 🤕 The fact that an ICE agent is being fundraised for after fatally shooting a civilian is already pretty disturbing. But what's even more unsettling is that GoFundMe is allowing it to stay online despite their own rules prohibiting such fundraisers. It just seems like they're not doing enough to enforce their policies, or maybe they're just letting it slide because of the high amount being sought... $550k?! That's a lot of money and it feels like a recipe for trouble.

I don't think we should be surprised that people are taking advantage of GoFundMe's platform in this way. We've seen this kind of thing happen before with crowdfunding campaigns that have been used to support questionable causes or individuals. It's always a good idea to fact-check and do your due diligence before donating to any campaign, especially ones that seem sketchy.

It's also worth noting that the fact that the FBI is handling the investigation and not the local authorities raises some eyebrows. Can't we trust our own law enforcement agencies to handle these kinds of situations? The lack of transparency and accountability is just another red flag in this whole situation... 🚨
 
Wow 😮🤯 how is this even possible 🙄? Like, isn't there some kind of oversight here? GoFundMe has these super clear rules and yet they just let it slide 💸😒. I mean, who does that? It's like, you gotta have some accountability here 🚨.
 
🤔 I'm super bummed about this. It's just crazy how GoFundMe is letting this fundraiser stay online despite their own rules saying no to violent crimes. Like, what's the point of having rules if they're not enforced? 🚫 This Jonathan Ross guy shot and killed a mom of three and now his friends are trying to raise millions to help him out... it just doesn't add up. I hope someone at GoFundMe is keeping an eye on this and will actually take down the campaign. 🤦‍♀️
 
I'm so bummed about this 🤕. I mean, can you even imagine how Renee's family is dealing with all this? The fact that GoFundMe isn't taking down the fundraiser right away is just weird to me 🤔. I know they're reviewing it and all, but come on! It's a total violation of their own rules. If someone from a regular household got themselves into some kind of trouble like this, I'm pretty sure their friends and family would be shunned by society. But for an ICE agent? Suddenly, we gotta have a fundraiser to support their legal fees 🤑? It just feels off to me.

And honestly, it's hard not to wonder if GoFundMe is trying to profit off of people like this instead of actually following through on their rules. I mean, what's the real motive behind keeping the fundraiser up? Are they worried about being sued or something? 😒
 
I'm still trying to wrap my head around this GoFundMe thingy... can't believe they're allowing a fundraiser for an ICE agent who shot and killed someone, like, no big deal 🤯. I mean, I get that everyone's got their own opinions on immigration and all that, but come on! This is just crazy talk. And now they're saying it's against their rules? How does that even work? You gotta review everything every time something new happens... I don't know how people keep track of this stuff 😩.

And what really gets me is the fact that this fundraiser started and didn't get shut down right away. It's like, hello! A person got shot and killed! You can't just raise money for someone who might have done it without even investigating first 🚫. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out...
 
This is just crazy 🤯... GoFundMe allowing a campaign to raise money for an ICE agent linked to a fatal shooting? It's like they're playing with fire 💥. I mean, what's next? Funding legal defense for someone accused of terrorism? 🚫 This is not just about the rules being broken, it's about setting a precedent that can be used by anyone with a grudge 🤔.

And what's up with the lack of transparency from GoFundMe? They're all like "we're reviewing the fundraiser" but they're not giving us any concrete info on what's going on 💁‍♀️. And to think, this is happening right under our noses 👀. I'm keeping a close eye on this one, folks... stay vigilant 🚨
 
I'm low-key shocked that GoFundMe is letting this fundraiser stay online 🤯. I mean, come on, they explicitly state that you can't use their platform for violent crimes and this guy killed someone in cold blood 💀. It's like, basic human decency. The fact that it's still up there with no explanation from GoFundMe is super sketchy 🤔.

As a formatting nerd, I appreciate structure and consistency 😊. But when it comes to something as messed up as this, you'd think they'd be all about removing the fundraiser ASAP ⏰. I'm not buying (no pun intended) that they're just reviewing it while still letting it stay online 🚫.

It's like, what's next? Are they gonna start letting fundraisers for other violent crimes too? 🤷‍♀️. It's time for GoFundMe to get their act together and take responsibility for allowing this to happen 💪.
 
🤔 This is just crazy... a GoFundMe fundraiser for an ICE agent accused of fatally shooting a civilian is still active despite violating their own terms of service! 🚫 It's like they're giving a free pass to help the officer cover his legal expenses. I don't get it, shouldn't they be held to their own rules? 😒 The fact that funds are being held safely by payment processors doesn't change the fact that GoFundMe is allowing this fundraiser to stay online. 🤦‍♂️ What's next, fundraisers for convicted felons? 🤑 This whole situation just smells fishy... 👀
 
this is messed up 🤬... shouldn't be that easy to raise money for someone who's been accused of something as heinous as murder 💔. GoFundMe needs to step up and follow their own rules 📚, you can't just let people use your platform for selfish reasons 🤑.
 
I'm so sad about this 🤕... I mean, come on GoFundMe! You gotta do better than this. They let a fundraiser stay up for an ICE agent who's accused of fatally shooting someone, and it just doesn't add up. Like, what's the point of having rules if you're not gonna enforce 'em? 🙄 And to think they're trying to raise millions of dollars for this guy... It's just crazy! 😂 I mean, can't we all agree that violent crimes are a big no-no? 🤷‍♀️ At least, that's what it seems like. What's the deal with this fundraiser staying up? Did GoFundMe really not notice? 🤔
 
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