The American Foundation for Civil Liberties and Freedoms (AFCLF) is a far-right organization that has raised $464,731 for a purported rally of truck drivers being being organized to create automobile gridlock in Washington, DC.
"A rowdy convoy of truckers is descending on the Beltway outside of Washington, D.C., presenting itself as an organic reaction to mask and vaccine mandates. But the official group bankrolling all that diesel is far from a grassroots organization devoted to truckers," The Daily Beast reported Thursday. "According to the AFCLF, which has also pushed false claims about the 2020 election and raised money for election deniers, '100% OF THE DONATIONS GO TO SUPPORTING THE CONVOY!'"
As the group is organized as a 501(c)3 organization under the tax code, contributions are tax-deductible.
"Reached for comment, AFCLF chair Chris Marston did not explain how the funding would work, or how participants would qualify for and access money, saying everything came together too quickly to establish rules," The Beast reported. "Marston said the funds wouldn’t cover return trips after the rally, and inserted a flake of distance between his group and the event itself."
The report noted the group "has already developed an ominous reputation."
Despite AFCLF self-identifying as trans-partisan, The Beast reported "the top issues on its website read like a MAGA voter’s dream platform: grievances about the 2020 election, critical race theory, cancel culture, big tech, school boards, and forced vaccinations."
The Beast noted it would cost an 18-wheeler approximately $1,800 to pay for gas for the return trip following the protest.
"Still, it will be difficult for the People’s Convoy to separate itself from bad actors—just look at the staggering array of groups now aligning themselves with the project. And its official partners comprise a right-wing activist who called for public officials to be executed after the election, as well Trump’s first national security adviser turned convicted liar and QAnon enthusiast Gen. Mike Flynn, whose affiliated nonprofit The America Project is an official People’s Convoy partner," The Beast reported.
Read the full report.
