Brian Kolfage
Brian Kolfage is a veteran of the United States Air Force and founder of the organization We Build the Wall which has begun construction of a privately funded barrier on the US-Mexico border. Kolfage is a triple amputee, with some articles claiming that he is the most severely wounded US airman in history.[1] His injuries resulted in the fastest medevac to the United States from a war zone.[2]
Brian Kolfage | |
|---|---|
 Kolfage addresses the audience during the 2012 Navy League Sea Service Awards | |
| Born | September 21, 1982 |
| Education | University of Arizona |
| Employer | Davis-Monthan Air Force Base |
| Known for | Founder of We Build the Wall |
| Spouse(s) | Ashley Kolfage |
| Children | 2 |
| Military career | |
| Service/ | United States Air Force |
| Rank | Senior Airman |
In December 2018, Kolfage initiated a $1 billion fundraising campaign for U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed Mexico–United States barrier on GoFundMe under the organizational title of "We Build the Wall, Inc." As of May 2019, the campaign had raised just over $22 million. Over the 2019 Memorial Day weekend, the organization constructed a 1/2 to 1-mile "weathered steel" bollard fence near El Paso on private land adjoining the US-Mexico border using $6–8 million of the donated funds. The organization says it has plans to construct further barriers on private lands adjoining the border in Texas and California.[3]
Personal life
Kolfage was born in Dearborn Heights on September 21, 1982 and grew up there. He completed his last year of high school in Waikiki, Hawaii upon his parents divorce.[4] He married his wife, Ashley Goetz, on May 28, 2011, and the couple have two children together.[2] Kolfage enrolled in University of Arizona with support from the Pat Tillman Foundation and graduated from the Architecture School in 2014.
Military background
He was deployed to Kuwait in 2003 and to Iraq in 2004, where he served in the Air Force Security Forces.[5] Kolfage was injured in Balad, Iraq, on September 11, 2004, when a 107 mm rocket landed 3 feet from his position, and caused the loss of both his legs and his right hand. He received a Purple Heart after his injuries, and recovered in Walter Reed Medical Center until July 2005 and later found a civilian job at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. After his injury he began to speak publicly about his experience and recovery and filmed a campaign ad for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in 2011. He was invited as Giffords's special guest to President Obama's State of the Union address in 2012.[6]
Causes
We Build the Wall, Inc
In December 2018, Kolfage started an attempt to raise $1 billion via GoFundMe for the construction of a border wall between the United States and Mexico. Kolfage said the target figure was achievable, adding "This won't be easy, but it's our duty as citizens".[7] In an email to the Washington Post, Kolfage stated that he began the fundraiser as "political games from both parties" have been holding back funding for the wall.[8] Within three days, over $9 million had been raised.[9]
In January 2019, Kolfage posted a message to the GoFundMe page that he had decided that raising money through a nonprofit would be more successful. A new 501(c)(4) nonprofit was created and called We Build The Wall Inc. through which Kolfage plans to have segments of the wall privately constructed through negotiations with landowners along the border.[10] The organization has since seen prominent politicians such as Kris Kobach and Steve Bannon take on leading roles. It began construction on a section of the proposed wall.
Kobach's involvement with the 501(c)4, "We Build the Wall," has given cause for concern, as the fundraising and campaign mailing lists it is accumulating are prohibited from coordinating with his Senate campaign. ‘As Kobach pursues U.S. Senate, border wall group he represents leaves anger in its wake.[11]
On July 23, 2019, Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle of Wichita filed the paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission necessary to run in the race for the vacant Senate seat. She criticized Kobach's employment in his controversial privately financed and constructed scheme to build the southern border wall. Wagle supports the building of a federally designed, bid and funded wall while saying Kobach's group undermines federal involvement. "We don’t need some rogue organization going out and building the wall."[12]
On August 1, 2019, Kobach sent out a campaign fundraiser using both the corporate name and email list of "Wall" donors. Common Cause Vice President for policy and litigation Paul S. Ryan said, "At a minimum, this Kobach for Senate fundraising solicitation email appears to violate the 'paid for by' disclaimer requirement" for official campaign communications. Ryan specified the requirement that mandates disclosure of the financial sponsors who originate official political communications. Kobach's email might be legal if his campaign paid fair market value for use of the list. If that were the case, a "paid for by" disclaimer would be required but was not present in the solicitation. Ryan said, "If the Kobach committee did not pay fair market value for the cost of disseminating this email, then the committee has arguably committed the more serious campaign finance law violation of receiving a corporate contribution in the form of a coordinated expenditure." We Build The Wall is legally prohibited from financing federal political campaigns in any fashion. Besides the concerns raised about Kolfage himself, a week prior to the mailer, right-wing anti-immigrant, "Wall" board member and former congressman Tom Tancredo sat on the stage alongside Kobach, and endorsed him in a New Mexico rally pushing the Wall.[13][14]
Facebook suspensions
He has been connected with Facebook pages titled Right Wing News and Fight4FreeSpeech, although Facebook has since shut down Right Wing News.[15]
Facebook also shut down Kolfage's Military Grade Coffee business page that he owns or endorses.[16]
It is unclear who owns and operates Military Grade Coffee Company. In the American trademarks database Military Grade Coffee is trademarked by West Coast Supplements, Inc., which is a division of West Coast Nutrition located in California. Through a search of the California Secretary of State corporations database it shows West Coast Nutrition was dissolved in the State of California.
The suspensions of Kolfage's Facebook accounts are due to him allegedly creating false narrative clickbait social media posts to discredit American politicians.[17]
He also reportedly repeatedly created GoFundMe campaigns and used the false narrative stories to draw attention to the campaigns.[18]
Through these methods he allegedly gathered a large list of email addresses of people who would be potentially willing to donate to conservative causes. A former staff member has saved a text message allegedly from Kolfage in which he references stealing or collecting the emails in order to build up his own email distribution.[19]
References
- "The Most Severely Wounded Airman in History: Triple Amputee, Brian Kolfage, Jr". College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture, University of Arizona. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
- Simkins, J. D. (2018-10-02). "Power couple: Wife of airman who survived most catastrophic wounds in history vying for cover of Maxim magazine". Military Times. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
- Shoichet, Catherine E.; Santiago, Leyla; Sayers, Devon M.; Diamond, Jeremy; Flores, Rosa (May 28, 2019). "A private group says it's started building its own border wall using millions donated in GoFundMe campaign". CNN.
- "Brian Kolfage | Gary Sinise". garysinisefoundation.org. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
- Welsh, James (2014-06-21). "I Married a Wounded Soldier". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
- Burkitt, Bree (December 23, 2018). "Meet the man with Arizona ties who has raised $16M for Trump's border wall". azcentral. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
- "Trump supporters angry at his 'retreat' on border wall". BBC Sport. 20 December 2018.
- Flynn, Meagan; Bever, Lindsey (December 21, 2018). "A triple-amputee military vet's GoFundMe has raised more than $13 million for Trump's border wall". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
- Abby Hamblin (December 20, 2018). "GoFundMe campaign to 'fund the wall' blows past $9 million in three days". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
- "$20 million in donations for border wall to be refunded or shifted to non-profit effort". Politico. Associated Press. Retrieved 2019-01-13.
- "'Kansas City Star, Jonathan Shorman, Steve Vockrodt, Jason Hancock and Bryan Lowry, July 21, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019". Missing or empty
|url=(help) - Susan Wagle, GOP leader of Kansas Senate, launches bid to replace Pat Roberts in 2020 Wichita Eagle, Bryan Lowry, July 23, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- Kris Kobach Uses Border Wall Group to Fund Senate Bid, Likely Illegally, Daily Beast, Lachlan Markay, August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- Kris Kobach’s run for U.S. Senate praised during We Build The Wall border conference, Jonathan Shorman and Jason Hancock, July 31, 2019. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- Collins, Ben (December 20, 2018). "Founder of viral fundraiser for Trump's border wall has questionable news past". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
- Tom Joyce (October 19, 2018). "Conservative Veteran Banned by Facebook: 'There Was No Real Reason'". LifeZette. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- Sacks, Brianna (January 10, 2019). ""I Felt Dirty": Former Employees Of The Veteran Crowdfunding Trump's Wall Say He Pushed Fake News To Get Rich". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
- Zadrozny, Brandy; Collins, Ben (January 11, 2019). "Behind the viral #GoFundTheWall fundraiser, a rising conservative star and a shadowy email harvesting operation". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-01-13.
- Alfaro, Mariana. "Man behind 'Build the Wall' GoFundMe has reportedly made a potentially lucrative contact list thanks to a shadowy email-harvesting operation". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-01-13.