Kamala Harris’ public support for a controversial bail fund continues to haunt her as more examples of crimes committed by those whose release was secured in the name of “social justice” emerge.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) paid bail for an assailant who turned killer a week later, a habitual DUI driver who crashed and killed a passenger after the fund freed him and a serial arsonist who attempted to burn down a mosque.
The Vice President had thrown her weight behind the fund in June 2020 during the height of riots over the death of George Floyd, asking followers to “chip in” if they could.
The MFF, which was also endorsed by other celebrities, raised more than $41 million that year, but questions have been raised about how it make decisions about who to bail out.
The Post revealed yesterday a two-time convicted rapist was bailed and went on to rape another woman landing him back in prison on rape and assault with a dangerous weapon charges.
Another man was bailed after a violent assault but went on to commit an even worse attack on another victim, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury. He is also back in custody.
Numerous sources have pointed to Harris’ long career as a prosecutor, District Attorney and then Attorney General in California and said she should have known better.
David Zimmer, a Public Safety Policy Fellow at the Center for the American Experiment, a Minnesota-based think tank, condemned her support of the fund.
“As a former AG, Harris’ support for the MFF to this day, despite the many examples of violent criminals being put back on the street only to reoffend, demonstrates a complete lack of judgment on her part,” he told The Post.
Other controversial choices for bail made by the MFF include:
Shawn Michael Tillman
Shawn Michael Tillman went on to kill a man he had a “beef” with just three weeks after his release in 2022, on bail paid for by MFF.
Tillman was known to authorities through repeated arrests for indecent exposure.
While in jail he was observed “repeatedly … exposing his penis and masturbating publicly” and muttering “you know you like it” to female jail staff.
“He masturbated all day, every day. Locked in his cell, people [walked] by every half-hour and … [saw] him,” a prison source told website Alpha News in 2022.
Another complaint reveals that Tillman threw a Styrofoam cup containing urine and feces at a corrections officer at the Lino Lakes prison, according to a prison report obtained by Alpha News.
Still he was bailed out on April 29 2022, according to court documents, and less than one month later, Tillman murdered Demitri Ellis-Strong in cold blood, shooting him on a light rail platform.
He was convicted of murder and is now serving life without parole, Minnesota court records show.
Devin Markus Chase
Devin Markus Chase is another repeat offender who had a prior conviction for a hit-and-run while under the influence of alcohol when he was bailed out by MFF on felony charges related to drugs.
Chase had failed to appear at scheduled court hearings to answer two charges and was subsequently arrested in October 2022.
But Minnesota Freedom Fund quickly stepped in and provided cash bail on Nov. 8, 2022, listing both of his drug case numbers, a court document cited by AlphaNews shows.
A few months later, Chase stole a car and caused another devastating drug-fueled crash which killed one of his passengers — a 30-year-old woman — in February 2023.
When interviewed by police, Chase said he had been living out of the car and on the morning he had crashed he had bought methamphetamine and heroin. He said he’d driven around smoking the drugs and couldn’t remember anything about the crash, according to a local Fox news report.
He was convicted of Criminal Vehicular Homicide in July last year and sentenced to just over three years in prison, court records show.
Jackie Rahm Little
An arsonist federally charged over lighting a Minneapolis mosque on fire in April last year was also previously bailed out by the MFF twice, court records show.
After allegedly setting a car on fire in 2021, the MFF bailed out Jackie Rahm Little from felony custody.
Several months later, a warrant was issued for Little’s arrest for failure to comply with conditions of release and he was again arrested. The MFF again came to his rescue and posted an additional bail amount for Little’s release in May 2022.
In January the following year, a Hennepin County Mental Health Court referee found Little mentally incompetent to be prosecuted for the 2021 arson.
A federal magistrate judge also ruled in November Little was not mentally competent to stand trial over the mosque blaze either, MPR News reports.
Since that time he’s bounced in and out of receiving mental health treatment, according to Minnesota court records viewed by The Post.
Devonte Deshawn Dickerson
Meanwhile, Devonte Deshawn Dickerson already had convictions for theft, fleeing from cops and stealing cars when he was hit with a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Minnesota Crime Watch sources told The Post it was the MFF who fronted up his bail in 2021. He didn’t stay free for long and was later convicted of a felony for the firearm and another for stealing a car in 2023.
He is currently in jail on yet another charge of talking a car without the owner’s consent and possession of drugs. Those charges are yet to be decided.
The MFF was started in 2016 and went from receiving donations of between $100,000 and $230,000 to the huge amount of $41,655,560 in 2020 following unrest after Floyd’s death at the hands of cops.
Crime watchdogs point out how big bail funds can undermine the system itself, point out judges are to set bail appropriate to the person in who stands before them.
The MFF didn’t respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Speaking a day earlier about their mission, the organization told The Post it is “a local nonprofit led by a volunteer-based board.”
“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,” said Noble Frank, the group’s communications director.
Despite their huge influx of cash, MFF listed a loss of $6.7 million on its 2022 federal filings, the latest available.
