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Good morning. Let's talk about "where the money went" and where it's going. All protest-related bail so far that has come our way has been paid and we're going to keep that up. At the onset of all this we set aside $10K for protesters, because it's what we had - not enough (1/??)
We stand ready to pay all protest-related bail (that isn't for Nazis - we're here for community).
But what about "catch-and-release" protesters? Many people had no bail but were scooped up and charged, and now have ongoing legal costs.
But what about "catch-and-release" protesters? Many people had no bail but were scooped up and charged, and now have ongoing legal costs.
Part of fighting pre-trial injustice means making sure people aren't pleading guilty on bullshit charges, like being hit with Riot while on a friend's porch, which happened.
We are working with a group of arrestees who will help coordinate support for those fighting charges.
We are working with a group of arrestees who will help coordinate support for those fighting charges.
"Support" starts with legal representation, court fees, and transportation, and starts with $150k. That can scale up as the project gets set up and costs start getting documented. We aren't going to leave folks hanging, just like we aren't going to stop paying bail. Speaking of,
THAT'S where the money is going that doesn't go to protesters: bail. We are a volunteer community fund who until last month was doing all we could to pay a handful of misdimeanors each month, steadily paying, getting funds back, raising more $ when we could, doing it again.
This is the part where transparency gets exciting. We get to talk about all the people sitting in jail who didn't take plea deals, sitting in jails pre-trial. We can share about the race and class disparities of those jailed pre-trial. And we can take action we'd only dreamed of.
Our pinned Tweet mentions $50 million to empty Hennepin jail. Not a talking point - a mission. We pay for those who can't afford it. That's the ~150 humans we've found in Hennepin who are in on bail. Ramsey = ?, bad data system, but we're researching and pressuring there to learn
Now, thanks to you, we have money. We also have a massive influx of volunteer interest, which we are activating. Which is exciting, and vital, because we'll need people power, not just cash, for what comes next: mass liberation. We'd paused donations to adjust - now, we work.
To say again: we are paying, and have paid, all protest bail that's come our way. There are a lot more people in jail on bail. Now, we can help on a scale impossible last month. We want to spend this money down to get people out of cages (ICE too) and we want to do it right.
