A man freed by the Minnesota bail fund supported by Kamala Harris during the George Floyd riots in 2020 has been charged with murder.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund admitted it helped release Shawn Michael Tillman from jail in 2020.
Tillman went on to shoot and kill a person in St. Paul in May of this year.
The Washington Free Beacon reported:
A Minnesota bail fund championed by Vice President Kamala Harris helped free a repeat felon now charged with murder.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund on Thursday acknowledged it helped secure the release of Shawn Michael Tillman, who in May shot and killed a passenger on a rail platform in St. Paul. Harris promoted the Freedom Fund on Twitter during the George Floyd riots in 2020, helping the group raise $35 million in a matter of weeks, according to the Washington Post.
Freedom Fund executive directors Mirella Ceja-Orozco and Elizer Darris defended the group’s decision to post Tillman’s bail in a statement Thursday, saying, “It is neither just nor effective to respond to violence by denying bail and preemptively punishing people who are disproportionately poor, Black, brown, and Indigenous.”
Tillman’s criminal record includes multiple counts of indecent exposure, as well as assault and unlawful possession of a firearm, court records show. He is now in custody with bail set at $2 million.
When reached for comment, the Freedom Fund directed the Washington Free Beacon to its statement.
Tillman’s most recent felony conviction was in November 2018 for indecent exposure in the presence of a minor. He had seven prior counts of indecent exposure at the time. Ceja-Orozco and Darris said convictions play into their decision to fund those charged with crimes. They did not list any of Tillman’s past convictions.
Last year a Minnesota man who was freed by the same bail fund promoted by Kamala Harris was charged with murder.
George Howard shot and killed another man during a road rage altercation in August 2021, just weeks after he was released from jail on $11,500 bond.
The Minnesota Freedom Bail Fund bailed George Howard out on August 6, 2021 and he was charged with two counts of second-degree murder on August 29.
“We did it, Joe!” – Kamala Harris
If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota. https://t.co/t8LXowKIbw
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 1, 2020
