Former vice president Joe Biden has not addressed his vice presidential pick’s support for a foundation that bailed rioters out of jail, though the 2020 presidential candidate condemned rioting and violence.
Sen. Kamala Harris and at least 13 of Biden’s campaign staff members supported the Minnesota Freedom Fund’s efforts to bail out those arrested during riots and protests following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.
The Daily Caller News Foundation repeatedly asked the Biden campaign to address these donations made by members of his campaign. The Biden campaign has not responded to numerous requests for comment on the matter, though Biden himself has condemned the rioting and violence.
“I want to be very clear,” Biden said in a speech earlier this week. “Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting. Setting fires is not protesting. None of this is protesting. It’s lawlessness. Plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted.”
Harris called on her millions of followers on Facebook and Twitter in the beginning of June to donate to the MFF, while several Biden staffers posted on social media that they had donated to the group.
The MFF received $35 million in donations after Floyd’s death, Fox9 reported, noting that much of this sum was used to bail protestors or rioters out of jail.
Court records investigated by Fox9 showed that Minnesota Freedom Foundation bailed out Christopher Boswell, a twice convicted sex offender, Jaleel Stallings, a suspect who allegedly shot at police, and Darnika Floyd, a woman who has been accused of killing her friend.
Before Floyd’s death, Fox9 reported, the foundation bailed out 563 individuals with an average bail of $342. Since Floyd’s death Minnesota Freedom Foundation has bailed out 184 people with an average bail of $13,195, Fox9 reported, noting that the foundation is also assisting 400 individuals with court fines, lost wages and legal fees.
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