‘Unconscionable’: Ilhan Omar Tells Journalists Reporting on Doxxed Trucker Convoy Donors to ‘Do Better’
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) defended those who were doxxed and later harassed by reporters after donating to Canada’s conservative “Freedom Convoy.”
The Minnesota Democrat called reporters who are using what was supposed to be private information to be better at their jobs.
The names of many of those who donated to the protest via the Christian-owned platform GiveSendGo were released after the company was hacked.
The Washington Post, Reuters, and others then began hunting down people who gave the protestors small amounts of money.
Reporter and podcaster Saagar Enjeti obtained an email from an unnamed Post reporter haranguing one donor over a $40 pledge.
The Washington Post is contacting people whose donation info was leaked and who gave as little as 40 dollars to the truckers to ask them why they did so
Email provided to me by a source pic.twitter.com/qbzebYyHiP
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) February 16, 2022
“Your name and email address are associated with a $40 contribution,” the email read. “Could you please tell me if this matches your records, and either call or reply to this email to share what motivated you to contribute to the campaign?”
Some Canadian reporters also demanded to know why some donors gave to the truckers, who were protesting Covid mandates in Ottawa and elsewhere.
The owner of Stella Luna says she regrets making her $250 donation to the truck convoy, saying she thought it was a “peaceful, grassroots movement.”
She made the donation Feb. 5, when police were calling the protest“volatile and dangerous.” By @GetBAC https://t.co/cVLwBDJWMI
— Alison Mah (@alisonmah) February 15, 2022
Alison Mah’s tweet drew condemnation from a person many people might consider an unlikely ally to embattled donors of Canadian truck protests: Omar.
Omar retweeted Mah, calling her behavior “unconscionable.”
I fail to see why any journalist felt the need to report on a shop owner making such a insignificant donation rather than to get them harassed. It’s unconscionable and journalists need to do better. https://t.co/oF7WIoS1jp
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) February 16, 2022
“I fail to see why any journalist felt the need to report on a shop owner making such a insignificant donation rather than to get them harassed,” the congresswoman wrote. “It’s unconscionable and journalists need to do better.”
Canada’s government is apparently going after some of those who have offered the truckers financial help, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the country’s Emergencies Act.
Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Finance Minister, vowed to freeze bank accounts on Monday “without a court order” to stop the protests.
“Federal government institutions will have a new broad authority to share relevant information with banks and other financial service providers to ensure that we can all work together to put a stop to the funding of these illegal blockades,” Freeland said.
“This is about following the money,” she added. “This is about stopping the financing of these illegal blockades.”
