A handful of celebrities donated to a Minnesota nonprofit that has allegedly helped release an accused sex criminal, accused murderer and other allegedly violent criminals.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) took in $35 million in donations in the weeks following the death of George Floyd while in custody of the Minneapolis Police, according to a report published by Fox9. The nonprofit accepts donations in order to pay “criminal bail and immigration bonds,” the organization’s website stated.
In the wake of the protests sparked by Floyd’s death, MFF took in donations in order to help protesters post bail.
The MFF gained popularity in the wake of Floyd’s death after celebrities began matching donations and sharing on social media. Seth Rogen, Steve Carrell, Josh Safdie, Don Cheadle and Ben Schwartz were among some of the celebrities who shared tweets claiming they had matched donations to the fund.
(And then much more)
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) May 30, 2020
Matched https://t.co/9YXesqNBdo
— SAFDIE (@JOSH_BENNY) May 28, 2020
Matched https://t.co/bmeP30vGX4
— Steve Carell (@SteveCarell) May 28, 2020
Nick Kroll, Rob Delaney, Pete Holmes, Kehlani and Janelle Monáe were also among the celebrities who shared on Twitter.
Matched. https://t.co/UsT7FOt04l
— nick kroll (@nickkroll) May 28, 2020
Just matched you . ???????????????? https://t.co/lp0ZtdRvTX
— Janelle Monáe, Cindi Mayweather???????????????????? (@JanelleMonae) May 28, 2020
???? https://t.co/B5X57LyKOA pic.twitter.com/a9QJnvv57P
— Kehlani (@Kehlani) May 28, 2020
The fund has reportedly bailed out a suspect accused of shooting at police, a woman accused of killing her friend and an alleged sex offender who has been convicted twice, according to court records obtained by FOX 9.
MFF reportedly paid $75,000 to bail out Jaleel Stallings, who allegedly shot at SWAT members during riots back in May. The fund also paid $100,000 cash to have Darnika Floyd released. She has been accused of stabbing a friend to death. (RELATED: REPORT: Spike In Donations During Protests Enabled Minnesota Freedom Fund To Bail Out Alleged Murderer And Convicted Rapist)
MFF reportedly shelled out $350,000 to bail out Christopher Boswell, who was charged with kidnapping, assault, and sexual assault in two different cases. Boswell has previously been convicted of rape twice.
Interim Executive Director of the fund Greg Lewin told the outlet the point of the MFF is “the system [they] are fighting.”
“I often don’t even look at a charge when I bail someone out,” Lewin said. “I will see it after I pay the bill because it is not the point. The point is the system we are fighting.”
Most Minneapolis protesters that were arrested by police were either released quickly or given a citation, Fox 9 reported.
When asked how many protesters MFF bailed out, Lewin responded, “probably a dozen in terms a direct bail actions.”