Anonymous Submission to Jersey Counter-Info
In mid April 2023, Jennifer Thomas and other TERFs held a “women’s free speech rally” at the state capital, where they pushed transphobic rhetoric in an effort to further oppress imprisoned trans women.
While Thomas’ rally was unsuccessful, questions over her and her groups finances and use of funds raised from her base of sycophants sprang up in the days after the event. In a now deleted tweet, Thomas detailed her funding request prior to the rally, where she requested $2,000 in total for the rally in Trenton.
Thomas’ itemized request breakdown was: $500-$700 for one overnight Air bnb stay for her group, $200 for cookies to give cops at the rally, $200 for supplies (not specified), and $800 for travel expenses (not specified).
The initial request of funds was odd at best, seeing as Thomas has both family and friends in Central NJ and lives in Pennsylvania within driving distance to Trenton. The same also goes for Brittany Ortiz, who lives in Philadelphia, PA. Given they could have easily saved money on accommodations it’s strange Thomas requested such a large sum of money from her online supporters. Additionally, why did Thomas request $800 for transportation when virtually every TERF in attendance lives within a one to three hour driving distance from Trenton? Did Thomas really need almost five hundred dollars for “supplies” and “cookies4cops”?
Despite the questionable basis of her funding request though, Thomas’ actual use of expenses brings up more red flags and even more questions. Here’s the breakdown: in total Thomas raised $1,182 dollars out of a requested $2,000 from her GiveSendGo virtual fundraiser. Instead of spending $500-$700 for one night in an AirBnB, Thomas paid for four nights, for a price almost exactly equal to the funds raised.
As pictured above, the cost of Thomas’ AirBnB was not only much higher than she initially estimated, but was almost exactly the total amount fundraised. Rather than use the money like she had led donors to believe she would, she rented four nights at a house hardly a thirty minute drive from her own home, for an event that was only supposed to last a few hours.
Thomas requested $200 for “supplies”, to create signage for the rally, but demonstrated this to have been unnecessary. Despite having nothing left over after paying for the AirBnB, they appear to have been well-supplied. It remains unclear at this time whether the cops were forced to do without their cookies. Antifascists on the ground reported they did not spot any evidence of baked goods on site or in the possession of the cops.
The discrepancies between Thomas’ request for funding and her actual use of those funds need more explanation than simple failure to meet the fundraising goal or unforeseen circumstances. Her gestures toward financial accountability, like posting breakdowns of planned expenditures and receipts, don’t hold up to the slightest scrutiny — no wonder she deleted the tweet. It’s hard to believe even her TERF supporters would have coughed up donations if they knew it was going to an excessive and unnecessary four-night stay. Surely Thomas agrees, or she’d have been up-front about that to begin with.
The most generous interpretation here is that she and her friends are making irresponsible use of donations; a more realistic interpretation is that they’re duping their supporters and stealing from them for personal enjoyment. Thomas’ motivation is unclear at this time but we wonder if she has connections/vested interest to whoever owns the AirBnB she booked.
We wouldn’t normally have a problem with someone stealing from TERFs, but it’s important to expose grifters like Thomas and her friends who are likely just using their followers. Don’t give this fraud your money.
-some antifascists