GoFundMe bans travel fundraisers for 'potentially violent political events'

GoFundMe will no longe permit people to crowdfund travel expenses that may be used for "potentially violent political events," according to a Tuesday report from CNN Business.

The move comes on the heels of violent rioters storming the U.S. Capitol last week, which led to the deaths of at least five people, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

At the time of this reporting, a GoFundMe page to benefit the family of Officer Sicknick has received more than $602,000 in donations.

What are the details?

In a statement to CNN Business, a spokesperson for the popular crowdfunding website cited the U.S. Capitol riots as the reason for the new guideline.

"Due to the violence, GoFundMe has removed numerous fundraisers intended to raise money for travel expenses," the spokesperson said. The company will also continue to "remove fundraisers that attempt to spread misinformation about the election, promote conspiracy theories, and contribute to or participate in attacks on U.S. democracy."

A spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that that's not all: A spokesperson added, "GoFundMe will remove fundraisers for travel expenses to a future political event where there's risk of violence by the attendees."

BuzzFeed News reports that since November, the crowdfunding company has detected and removed approximately 1,400 election-related fundraising campaigns that "violated their terms of service."

"Many of these campaigns were related to 'Stop the Steal' rallies, spreading conspiracy theories about election fraud, promoting violence, or trying to raise money for legal fees for people who stormed the Capitol," according to the outlet. "As a result of its new policy, the platform has removed 40 campaigns that were created solely to help fund people's travel to DC for upcoming rallies."

On Monday, the Associated Press announced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning of plans of mass armed protests to take place in the days leading up to — and including — Inauguration Day.