During the 2020 presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris openly promoted a bail fund aimed at helping release violent criminals from prison.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund was in the national spotlight during the George Floyd protests. Harris promoted the bail fund in June 2020 to help bail Black Lives Matter rioters out of jail.
“If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota,” Harris posted on X, then Twitter, back in 2020, urging people to donate to the fund during the 2020 campaign.
If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota. https://t.co/t8LXowKIbw
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 1, 2020
However, according to a local report from Minneapolis-based FOX 9, only a fraction of the more than $41 million actually went to freeing rioters.
Instead, the majority of the money was spent in efforts to release violent criminals from jail.
According to the Fox report, the fund spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to free an alleged knife murderer and a convicted rapist who was facing charges of sexual assault and kidnapping.
The fund also was used to release George Howard, 48, who according to the report allegedly became involved in a road rage altercation before he shot another driver – just weeks after bailing out on domestic assault charges. He was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the interstate shooting
The Minnesota Freedom Fund tweeted Friday admitting to its role in putting Howard back on the streets.
“We are aware of reports of the tragic and fatal shooting in Minneapolis earlier this week allegedly involving George Howard, an individual the Minnesota Freedom Fund had previously provided with bail support,” the group wrote. “MFF believes that every individual who has been arrested by the law enforcement is innocent until proven guilty, and if a judge deems them eligible for bail, they should not have to wait in jail simply because they don’t have the same income or access to resources as others.”
“Under new leadership, MFF has implemented changes to its policies and procedures, and we will continue to assess them to ensure that we are being responsive to the safety and needs of our community,” the group said in a follow-up tweet.
Well, the fund is back in the spotlight because as of this past week its website was running and accepting payments.
Harris’ past endorsement of the fund has drawn the ire of law enforcement officials.
“Let’s be clear about something: If Kamala Harris becomes the next president of the United States, she will be an unmitigated disaster for public safety in this country,” Joe Gamaldi, the national vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police and an active Houston Police Department lieutenant, told Fox News.
“She has loudly and proudly supported bail reform and has even donated and encouraged other people to donate to a fund that helped get murderers, rapists, people who were shooting people in the streets, out on bail,” he said. “We’re not talking about helping bail out the mom who stole a candy bar from the store to help feed her kids; we’re talking about violent criminals.”