Kamala Harris Faces Renewed Criticism for Support of Minnesota Bail Fund That Helped Free Violent Offenders

by Evan Poellinger

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, likely to succeed President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential election, is facing renewed scrutiny for her past support of a controversial bail fund with a history of springing violent offenders from jail.

Harris, despite often citing her experience as a district attorney and attorney general as a demonstration of her law and order credentials, endorsed the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) in a tweet from June 1, 2020, declaring, “if you’re able to, chip in now to the MN Freedom Fund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota.” The fund received a $40 million cash windfall after it was promoted by celebrities like Harris, Seth Rogen and Chrissy Teigen.

MFF raised the huge sum on the premise of bailing out people who were arrested during the George Floyd riots, but in an August 2020 media interview, then interim executive director Greg Lewin stated only about a dozen protesters were recipients of MFF bail funds.

When questioned about her support of the fund in an interview with WCCO in October 2022, Harris responded, “I think that unfortunately what we’re seeing is people are playing political games right now. We’re 18 days away from midterms and we have sadly not seen a lack of misinformation and disinformation. I think this is another one of those examples. The reality is that I spent the majority of my career as a prosecutor, making sure that people paid serious consequences for, in particular, violent and serious crimes. I will always maintain that that is important and must be done.”

However, Crime Watch Minneapolis has cataloged a number of violent offenders who committed more serious crimes after the Minnesota Freedom Fund secured their release. These include George Howard, who “was in custody for domestic assault” and “was subsequently charged with murder 18 days after being bailed out by MFF,” and Gregory Jones, who “was in custody for attacking a woman in a bar bathroom” and “was subsequently charged with committing lewd acts in front of children three days after being bailed out by MFF,” Crime Watch Minneapolis reported.

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We've had requests for a list of offenders @MNFreedomFund has bailed out who've gone on to commit new crimes, including serious assault, sex assault, murder. This list is by no means comprehensive, it's only those we know.

Link to this list when contacting your legislators.

— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) February 16, 2022

Another offender, Shawn Michael Tillman, who had three previous felony convictions, was convicted in March of a murder he committed only three weeks after being bailed out by MFF.

In a February 2022 statement addressing some of the “legitimate questions” it has received, the group said it is committed to ending “pre-trial detention and the racist, wealth-based cash bail system that facilitates it.”

As Harris prepares to replace President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket, her opponents are calling attention to her past endorsement of MFF. The Republican State Leadership Committee highlighted Harris’ support of MFF in an email Monday.

.@KamalaHarris supported a bail fund for Minnesota criminals who should have stayed behind bars. One convict she sprung from prison killed a man after Kamala helped release him. https://t.co/LQca3IPagn

— Tom Emmer (@tomemmer) July 22, 2024

“Regardless of who Democrats nominate for president, the Biden-Harris agenda remains in the states and on the ballot heading into November,” said RSLC spokesperson Stephanie Rivera. “Minnesotans have felt the negative impacts of these destructive pro-criminal policies and will hold them accountable for their failures at the ballot box in November.”

MAGA Inc., a Trump super PAC, also targeted Harris for her support of the organization in an X post Monday.

“Kamala Harris encouraged people to contribute to a bail fund to free violent rioters. One of those freed ended up being charged with murder,” the group said. “Kamala Harris bails out criminals, and Americans pay the price.”

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Evan Poellinger, the Alpha News Summer 2024 Journalism Fellow, is a native Minnesotan with a lifelong passion for history and politics. He previously worked as a journalism intern with the American Spectator and an investigative journalism fellow with the Media Research Center. He is a graduate of College of the Holy Cross with degrees in political science and history.
Photo “Vice President Kamala Harris” by Vice President Kamala Harris.