Brooklyn activist Ryan Thoresen Carson’s ‘working class’ friends raise $68,000 in fundraiser so they can ‘take time off of work to properly mourn’
Friends of slain Brooklyn social justice activist Ryan Carson have raised more than $68,000 for themselves to help the group “take time off work to grieve appropriately.”
A ‘collective’ of Ryan’s close friends, who describe themselves as ‘working class people’, launched a fundraising campaign at 3.50am on Monday in response to the activist’s murder.
As they are still ‘reeling from a brutal loss’, the GoFundMe is asking for donations to “ease the burden and stress of this horrific situation so that we have space and time to grieve and remember Ryan.”
“The immediate needs are to offset the costs of working-class people taking time off work to properly grieve,” the page adds.
The attempt comes as Carson’s alleged killer, Brian Dowling, 18, walked a perp outside an NYPD precinct on Thursday after being charged with the murder.
Ryan Carson, 32, was stabbed in the heart in a horror attack in Brooklyn early Monday morning
The teenager accused of Carson’s murder, Brian Dowling, 18, had tears in his eyes as he left an NYPD precinct Thursday morning after his murder arraignment.
According to the fundraiser, the page was set up by Carson’s girlfriend Claudia Morales, who was with Carson when he was stabbed in the heart, and a friend named Tammie Marie David.
Following their request for paid leave, a group of friends added a moving tribute that noted Carson’s dedication to left-wing social causes, including environmentalism and establishing supervised drug injection sites in New York City.
“If you Google ‘Ryan Carson’ you will hear (and now see) about the tragedy that struck early Monday morning,” the fundraiser said.
“But if you look beyond the latest news, you’ll see news of his legislative victories, you’ll likely find his social media accounts full of thoughts and memories, and you’ll find collections of his artistic works to date.
“We hope you will find his thoughts on mutual aid and his advocacy, and understand that his radical principles of community care, justice, and dismantling an individualized, profit-driven way of life are worth continuing in our own communities to put.
“It is this time of remembrance and healing that allows reflection.”
Some have reacted furiously to the fundraiser online, seemingly baffled by the request to help them ‘take time off work’ as they are ‘working class people’.
“What a strange way to ask for money for a grieving process,” said someone on X, formerly Twitter.
“Not even money for the funeral,” said another, with one adding that the petition gives the impression that the friends are “not upset at all.”
Carson worked for the New York Public Interest Research Group, a nonprofit organization where his work focused on environmental causes.
His girlfriend Morales, according to now-closed social media profiles, was also an avid BLM activist who, among other things, used the cop-hating acronym ACAB in some posts.
On Wednesday, the activist’s friends raised eyebrows again after claiming he felt sorry for the teenager who allegedly stabbed him to death and wanted his killing to be used to advance left-wing policies.
“I know he would have wanted people to use his death as a vehicle to talk about structural abuses in the city,” said New York State Assemblymember Emily Gallagher. The Gothamist.
“I’m absolutely certain he would immediately see that this was a person who was suffering from a lack of resources in our community, who probably needs better mental health care, possibly housing, possibly drug support, drug treatment.”
“What he would want to avenge his death is for us to fix how broken this city is.”
Carson was returning home from a wedding when horror struck – and his girlfriend Claudia posted a photo of them smiling together just hours before the tragedy. They wear the same outfits as in the security footage
Dowling was taken to Central Booking this afternoon following his arrest in Bedford Stuysevant earlier in the day
Dowling, 18, cried as he was removed from the 81st Precinct in Brooklyn today
The comments came before the 18-year-old accused of Carson’s murder walked publicly outside an NYPD precinct on Thursday after being charged with the killing.
Dowling, 18, was arrested Thursday morning at a Bedford Stuyvesant apartment over the brutal attack, which was caught on camera.
That same day, police removed a sweatshirt of the type worn by the suspect in the video from Dowling’s home, along with a knife believed to have been used in the attack.
While some described Dowling as ’emotionally disturbed’, neighbors also told DailyMail.com he was the ‘sweetest boy’ who came from a ‘good’ and ‘respectful’ family.
The teenager, believed to work at a school in Clinton Hill, was previously reported to the police by his aunt two months ago after he broke his girlfriend’s belongings during an argument.
Shocking footage of the attack, for which a motive has not yet been established, shows a man, believed to be Dowling, walking past Carson and Morales before turning back.
Carson was returning home from a wedding when the horror sting struck – and his girlfriend Claudia posted a photo of them smiling together just hours before the tragedy.
After a brief back-and-forth motion, Carson was seen shoving his attacker in the chest several times, prompting the attacker to swing the knife at Carson.
At one point the suspect asks, “What the hell are you looking at?” before violently stabbing Carson in the chest.
The surveillance video ends with Carson on the ground as his girlfriend yells “Brian!” called out. as the attacker fled the scene.