The Democratic Party of Wisconsin sent an email Monday urging supporters to donate to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which provided bail for a man charged with sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl.
"This weekend saw another disturbing act of violence on a Black man in our sister state of Minnesota with a police officer killing Daunte Wright during a traffic stop," wrote Democratic Party of Wisconsin Executive Director Nellie Sires. "Black Lives Matter, and we all need to be striving to make ourselves actively anti-racist. Simply being 'non racist' is not enough anymore.
"That’s why I want to direct your attention to an organization called the Minnesota Freedom Fund -- a fantastic nonprofit that operates to pay the bail and immigration bonds for those who cannot afford them, because our criminal justice system should never criminalize poverty or put a price on freedom."
Sires' email provided a link to the "Donate" page at MNFreedomFund.org.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund rose to prominence following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last May, but critics have pointed out that it has worked to bail out dangerous criminals, including an accused child rapist.
"Timothy Wayne Columbus, 36, faces up to 30 years in prison for allegedly sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl in 2015, court records show," The Daily Caller reported. "He was released from a Minneapolis jail in early July on $75,000 bail, according to jail records.
"One day after his release, Columbus signed a document asking the court to return any refunded bail to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, indicating that the fund played a role in securing his release from jail."
The fund also worked to bail out other dangerous criminal defendants, as The Federalist noted:
The Minnesota Freedom Fund also provided the financial support to bail out 53-year-old Richard Raynell Kelley in August. Kelley is facing 20 years in prison on charges of burglary and 1st-degree assault after being accused of breaking into the home of a 71-year-old woman in April. According to the Caller, prosecutors say Kelly attacked the woman after being confronted on why he was in her home and proceeded to grab her by the shoulders, throw her down the stairs, and continue “punching and kicking her in the ribs, back, and right eye.”
Kelly was found in violation of his bail one week after his arrest and still faces an active felony warrant for his arrest.
Vice President Kamala Harris promoted the fund in a tweet June 1.