Recently, Bellevue, ID Deputy Marshal Nate Silvester was called out and exposed for his racially insenstive, unprofessional, and dangerous posts made under his "nateswildn" TikTok account which included skits mocking the seriousness of police killings, rants defending the murder of unarmed black men, and the promotion of mob violence. When members of the public brought this to the attention of his superiors, he was suspended without pay and placed under investigation.

In response, a friend of the officer started him a GoFundMe which originally stated:

"I just don’t want to see my friend lose out on any money for this, when it was meant to be satirical... Please donate what you can contribute."

As blind "Pro-Police" donations started flooding in and the initial goal of $150K reached, the campaign goal was upped to $200K with the following update:

"Nate is beside himself!!... He has decided to donate a portion to the charity The First Responders Children’s Foundation, a charity for the families of fallen officers and first responders. Therefore, I’m upping the goal again!"

Yet, the recipient of the funds still shows Nate Sylvester. If the GoFundMe is for a non-profit, the funds should be going straigh to the non-profit, not through an officer being investigated for midconduct! Less than 24 hours after this first edit, the campaign reached nearly $250K and the goal was upped again to $500K with another concerning update from the organizer which reads:

"Please know how much I appreciate all of your donations!! As I have mentioned these additional funds will go to support Nate and many other officers through a new non-profit focused on police advocacy." 

This update was paired with a TikTok Video message from now suspended Officer Nate Sylvester pledging to use the funds to start a "new non profit advocacy organization" for police with little to no other details on what this organization would do or how the funds would be used. 

ALL OF THIS has occured as it has now been brough to light that Officer Nate Sylvester was himself involved in the disturbing 2009 killing of a man named Randy J. Holler Jr., during which Sylvester and four other officers fired TWENTY ROUNDS at Holler as he stood in the middle of parking lot sending MULTIPLE rounds into nearby parked cars and at least one entirely unaccounted for! 

IS THIS THE KIND OF DANGEROUS POLICING "WILD" NATE SYLVESTER'S NEW NON PROFIT WILL SUPPORT AND ADVOCATE FOR? 

GoFundMe has always required strict transparency regarding how funds will be used but has now allowed this suspended officer and his friends to raise THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS that may very well be used to advocate for police officers who engage in brutal and lethal conduct.

This Campaign benefitting Nate Sylvester is not only in violation of GoFundMe's own Terms of Service but also out of synch with the company's own pledge to "Supporing Justice + Equality" made in the weeks following George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police which was paired with a statment from CEO Tim Cadogen:

"The issues people are voicing are deep-rooted and require meaningful change. We understand that to drive change we must get involved and take action. To help drive that change, today we’ve created the Justice + Equality Fund to support organizations and people that are dedicated to addressing both urgent needs and systemic problems... We are committed to a sustained effort to create change and look forward to working with you to help our society become more equitable.”

This was obviously nothing but a gaslit pledge designed to allow GoFundMe to profit off of systemic oppression. 

So long as GoFundMe faciliates this fundraiser, it should no longer be trusted to host fundraisers for racial and social justice. 

SIGN THIS PETITION:

DEMAND GOFUNDME REFUND ALL MONIES COLLECTED BY OFFICER SYLVESTER THUS FAR AND CANCEL HIS CAMPAIGN, CEASING ANY FURTHER INVOLVEMENT OR SUPPORT.

PLEDGE TO REMOVE YOUR OWN CAMPAIGNS FROM AND CEASE ALL FURTHER DONATIONS THROUGH GOFUNDME FOR ANY ENDEAVOR SHOULD THE SITE CONTINUE TO HOST OFFICER SYLVESTER'S DISGUSTING PLATFORM. 

Find GoFundMe alternatives HERE!