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Brian Kolfage (born September 21, 1982) is a veteran of the United States Air Force and the founder of the organization We Build the Wall, which claims to have started the construction of a privately funded barrier on the U.S.–Mexico border, after raising more than $25 million through GoFundMe donations. Kolfage is a triple amputee, suffering injuries while serving in Iraq with the U.S. Air Force.[1][2]
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]
On August 20, 2020, Kolfage was indicted, along with Steve Bannon and two other co-defendants, the prosecution alleging "for their roles in defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign known as 'We Build the Wall' that raised more than $25 million." Kolfage was later arrested in Florida. While repeatedly assuring donors that Kolfage would not be paid, the defendants allegedly schemed to pass $350,000 to Kolfage, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle.[4]
