The GoFundMe campaign sponsored by the father of the pro-life teenagers that Democrat state representative Brian Sims harassed has reached its fundraising goal. The campaign hit the $100,000 mark to raise funds for a local pro-life organization based in Philadelphia.
During the two videos the Democrat legislator posted online showing him harassing pro-life women and teenagers, Brian Sims repeatedly asked viewers to send money to the Planned Parenthood abortion center in Philadelphia where the pro-life people were praying. Sims also requested $100 to help identify the pro-life people in the video and to doxx them by posting their private residential and contact information online — which would potentially subject them to violence and harassment.
In response to the videos, Joe Garecht, the father of the three teenage girls, set up a GoFundMe campaign to support the pro-life Union of Philadelphia. He hoped that a national outcry and response from pro-life Americans would help him hit a $100,000 mark for the local pro-life organization. This morning his campaign hit that goal.
“Wow! Thank you to everyone who has supported this fundraising campaign! I am happy to say that we have now surpassed our goal of raising $100,000 to support the Pro-Life Union of Philadelphia and to show Rep. Brian Sims that the pro-life movement will NOT be silenced,” Garecht said in an update.
“Today, I am asking you to help us keep this fundraising campaign going. **Let’s see how high we can go together to show our support for life!** Please consider sharing this campaign again on Facebook, Twitter, and via e-mail to your friends and family to ask them to donate and to share the campaign with their own contacts. The more we surpass the original goal, the bigger statement we will send! Thanks for all of your support!” he added.
SIGN THE PETITION: Rep. Brian Sims Should Resign for Harassing Pro-Life Woman
Garecht said his wife, two teenage daughters and a friend were the ones in a video that Sims posted publicly online several weeks ago. In the video, Sims bullied the family and then appeared to threaten to doxx them by offering $100 for anyone who would identify them publicly.
Rather than respond in anger or hatred, Garecht and his family decided to use the experience to do something good. They set up a fundraiser to help mothers and babies in the Philadelphia area.
“On Holy Thursday (April 18, 2019) my wife, two teenage daughters, and their friend were peacefully praying outside of a Planned Parenthood in Center City Philadelphia when a man started yelling at them,” Garecht wrote on his fundraising page. “[A]fter ranting at them for several minutes, he left, and returned with his cell phone to record the … video.”
“It’s bad enough that a grown man would be trying to dox three teenage girls,” the father wrote. “It’s even worse that he is an elected official.”
“First, Brian, if you have a problem with my wife and daughters praying outside of an abortion clinic, I’m the one you can talk to… instead of harassing teenage girls. It seems like you like to pick on women, teenagers, and senior citizens. That’s shameful, and unacceptable,” he said.
Secondly, Garecht encouraged people to donate to the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia, which provides education and support for mothers and babies in the city, including diapers, baby clothing and more.
“I have a challenge for the pro-life community. Rep. Sims offered $100 to anyone who would identify these teenage girls for him. Instead of $100, let’s join together to donate $100,000 to the pro-life movement,” Garecht wrote.
As far as LifeNews can tell, no Democratic leaders have condemned Sims’ behavior thus far. One group, the Temple University Democrats club, tweeted that it was “proud” of Sims. It later deleted the tweet, but several other tweets posted this week on its page support Sims with the hashtag #IstandWithSims.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the Republican Party of Pennsylvania sent a letter to U.S. Attorney William McSwain, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner urging that Sims be investigated.
SIGN THE PETITION: Rep. Brian Sims Should Resign for Harassing Pro-Life Women
The pro-abortion Democrat politician has been condemned repeatedly since he posted a video of himself berating a pro-life sidewalk counselor last week in Philadelphia. A second video that he posted earlier in April showed him offering $100 for the identities of three pro-life teenage girls who were praying peacefully outside the abortion facility with their mother.
His requests suggest that Sims, a state representative, may have been trying to intimidate the 13- and 15-year-old girls through doxxing, a practice where a person’s name and contact information are posted publicly online usually to encourage harassment.
In the first video, Sims also appeared to be attempting to doxx another pro-life woman – he called her an “old white lady” – by asking his viewers for her name and address.
“Shame on you!” Sims said as the woman asked him to get his camera out of her face. “You have a problem protesting in public? Don’t protest in public!
“If you know who this woman is and you can give me her address, we’ll protest out in front of her home. Let’s go protest out of her house and tell her what’s right for her body,” he continued.
For most of the video, the woman silently bore Sims’ bullying. The exception was when he got his camera close to her face and she told him not to.
Sims also repeatedly exerted his power and privilege by mentioning that he is a state representative, including when the woman appeared to be calling police.
His bullying continued for more than eight minutes, the length of the video.
In the second video that Sims posted several weeks ago, he made a similar request. He offered his viewers $100 to identify three teenage girls who were peacefully praying outside the same Planned Parenthood.
“What we’ve got here is a bunch of … pseudo Christian protesters who’ve been out here shaming young girls for being here. So, here’s the deal, I’ve got $100 to anybody who will identify these three, and I will donate to Planned Parenthood,” Sims said in the video.
His actions may have violated consent and cyberbullying laws. The Philadelphia police and district attorney’s office said they are looking into the incident.
Sims released a statement late Tuesday where he did not apologize for his behavior. Instead, he chose to attack pro-life advocates even more by claiming they “slur” and “attack” Planned Parenthood patients – without providing any evidence to support his claims.
Several leading pro-life groups are planning a rally on Friday at the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Philadelphia where Sims filmed himself twice harassing and bullying pro-life women.
A LifeNews petition calling for Sims’ resignation amassed more than 24,000 signatures this week. And a fundraiser started by the family of the teenage girls has raised more than $95,000 for a charity that helps mothers and babies in the city.
The Planned Parenthood abortion clinic where Sims harassed the women has failed 13 of its 23 safety inspections.
