The Justice Department is investigating whether Black Lives Matter (BLM) defrauded donors who sent the organization millions of dollars during racial justice protests in 2020, the Associated Press reports.
Federal law enforcement authorities have issued subpoenas and served a search warrant as part of an investigation into the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. that helped spark protests in U.S. cities following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, anonymous sources told the news service.
Protests in some localities have resulted in deaths, riots, looting, fires and significant destruction of property.
According to AP:
It’s unclear whether the investigation will result in criminal charges, but its mere existence invites new scrutiny of a movement that in recent years has faced criticism over its public accounting of donations it has received. The recent burst of investigative activity also comes at a time when civil rights organizations have raised concerns that the Trump administration may target various progressive and left-wing groups that have criticized him, including those affiliated with BLM, the transgender rights movement and anti-ICE protesters.
The Justice Department declined to comment on Thursday’s report.
The investigation actually began under the Biden administration, according to one of AP’s sources, and received renewed attention under the Trump administration.
The BLM foundation said it received more than $90 million in donations following the high-profile death of Floyd, who was seen on a viral video struggling to breathe under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer who was later convicted of murder.
Critics accused the nonprofit foundation of not being clear about how it spent its donations. Criticism was sharp in 2022 when it became known that part of the funds had gone to a $6 million home in Los Angeles with six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a swimming pool and other amenities.
As Breitbart News reported at the time, co-founder Patrisse Cullors admitted to using the group’s $6 million property to throw personal parties. The BLM leader then resigned in 2023.
AP reports that no prior investigation into the nonprofit’s finances found evidence of irregularities. The latest federal form filed, the news service reported, shows the BLM foundation had $28 million in assets for the fiscal year ending June 2024.
The current investigation is reportedly being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California in Los Angeles.
In a statement to the AP on Thursday, the foundation said it “is not the target of any federal criminal investigation.”
“We remain committed to full transparency, accountability and responsible management of resources dedicated to building a better future for black communities,” the foundation told the press service.
The Black Lives Matter slogan first emerged in 2013 after the acquittal of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida in what was legally ruled a “stand your ground” case.
It was the death the following year of Michael Brown, shot while charging at a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, that made the slogan “Black Lives Matter” a national, and then global, rallying cry for left-wing social justice.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the bestselling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the line and nine other mystery novels and non-fiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com to find out more.
