Arizona: GoFundMe Removes Aid for Rancher Charged in Migrant Murder

An Arizona man shot and killed a migrant on his property and was charged for it. Now, several people have set up GoFundMe fundraisers so he could pay his $1 million bond. However, GoFundMe removed these fundraisers shortly after.

The Arizona rancher is 73-year-old George Alan Kelly, who was charged with the murder of 48-year-old migrant, Gabriel Cuen-Butimea. The ones who set up the GoFundMe pages for him were actually strangers.

GoFundMe explained they took down the fundraisers for the Arizona man because it went against their rules.

"GoFundMe's Terms of Service explicitly prohibit campaigns that raise money to cover the legal defense of anyone formally charged with an alleged violent crime. Consistent with this long-standing policy, any fundraising campaigns for the legal defense of someone charged with murder are removed from our platform," said a spokesperson for the fundraising website.

The spokesperson then told Fox News Digital that those who donated to the campaign will be fully refunded.

While the fundraiser for Kelly was taken down in GoFundMe, another fundraiser for the Arizona rancher is still active on the Christian crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo.

George Kelly Deemed a Patriot by People Who Set Up His GoFundMe Campaign

As mentioned above, strangers were the ones who set up the GoFundMe campaigns for Kelly, with one of them calling him a "patriot." These were set up so he could make bail as well as help in his legal defense.

Kelly and his elderly wife live in Kino Springs, near Nogales. The GoFundMe pages also promise to help them out, and these have received some support as donors say he should not have been jailed.

Arizona has Stand Your Ground laws. However, the Daily Mail has noted that his lawyer has yet to invoke that law for his defense.

The Case of Arizona Rancher George Alan Kelly

George Alan Kelly's ranch is located just 150 feet from the U.S.-Mexico border, and would likely be in a path where migrants would be passing by as they aim to illegally cross into the United States.

The incident happened on January 30, with Kelly firing at and eventually killing Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, a Mexican citizen who was identified by the Mexican voter registration card he had with him.

Reports indicated that just hours before the fatal shooting happened, somebody who identified as "Allen" called authorities and said that there was a "possible active shooter." The caller also warned Border Patrol officials there was a "group of people running" and said he "was unsure if he was getting shot at as well."

When police finally arrived at the scene, Chief Deputy Gerardo Castillo stated that they responded to another report of shots being fired and found a dead Hispanic male in the area.

According to the New York Post, authorities have not provided much information about the killing yet, including a possible motive. However, authorities did admit that it does not seem like Kelly and the victim know each other.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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