Harris's Bail Fund Endorsement

With just about a month left before the 2024 presidential election, both candidates are campaigning in full swing. While former President Trump addresses rallies and boldly comments on critical issues, Vice President Harris is busy ducking from the media and doing a splotchy job of taking credit for the past four years while distancing herself from the Biden administration's shortfalls.

The truth is that she must disassociate not just from President Biden's actions and policies but also from her own record. While Democratic candidate Harris has tried to walk back her earlier statements, like calling for a ban on fracking, there are other sensitive topics that she has mostly brushed under the carpet.

For instance, the campaign and the media would like to forget her enthusiastic support for the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF). The organization, founded in 2016, pays cash bail for persons who cannot afford to make bail on their own.

According to MFF's website, it "has paid more than $26 million to free 3,000+ people from pre-trial jailing and immigration detention" and "pays criminal bail and immigration bonds for those who cannot otherwise afford to as we seek to end discriminatory, coercive, and oppressive jailing." Over the past years, it is estimated that the organization paid $21.2 million in cash bail to free 2,537 people and $4.8 million for immigration bonds to 463 persons held in immigration detention.

The relatively unknown MFF shot to national attention as riots rocked the country following the death of George Floyd in 2020 at the hands of the police. Then-Senator Kamala Harris threw her weight behind the organization, tweeting, "If you're able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota." (Interestingly, Tim Walz was the governor of Minnesota at the time). With such high-profile endorsements, the Fund raised a staggering $41 million in 2020.

Noble Frank, the group's communications director, stated, "We received an unprecedented level of support following the murder of George Floyd, and we have used that support to advance our mission during the years since." The organization declares, "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."

While the cause may seem altruistic to some, records show that the MFF's actions have harmed society rather than helped hapless individuals. Very little of the money amassed went to paying cash bail for simple protestors from Minnesotan prisons. And, despite donations pouring in, the organization listed a loss of $6.7 million on its 2022 federal filings.

Alarmingly, a chunk of the Fund went to bail out violent repeat offenders and put them back on the streets. The MFF bailed out murderers, arsonists, habitual DUI drivers, and rapists who went on to commit heinous crimes just weeks after being released from jail.

Shawn Michael Tillman, a repeat offender, was arrested in St. Paul in April 2022 on an indecent exposure charge, with bail set at $2,000. The Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) paid his bail, leading to his release on May 3, 2022. Just over two weeks later, Tillman murdered a man at a St. Paul light rail station, shooting him multiple times. He is now serving a life sentence for the crime, raising concerns about the judgment of endorsing bail funds like MFF.

While citizens can claim they donated in good faith to bail protestors alone and cannot be held wholly responsible for the Fund's actions, Vice President Kamala Harris, who was then a Senator and the Attorney General of California before that, cannot absolve herself of the responsibility and blame so easily. Persons in public office must be scrupulously thorough before openly endorsing a cause or organization.

Besides, her long career in law alone should have prevented her from making such a blunder. What would have prompted Harris to put her weight behind "a local nonprofit led by a volunteer-based board" when the country was witnessing one of its most violent riots? It is estimated that insurance companies paid between $1 billion and $2 billion in insurance claims.

Experts in the field opine that such bail funds often undermine the system itself. The judges set bail, which is appropriate to the person who stands before them. Bail is also a means to check crimes and keep criminals from roaming free.

Harris's tweet soliciting funds for the controversial bail fund has not been removed, signaling her continued support for the organization or her unwillingness to upset the ultra-Left. Whatever her reason, VP Harris's naïve support of a controversial organization and her disinclination to correct her course does not augur well in a candidate seeking the top job in the country.