Trump falsely accuses Harris of donating to Minnesota Freedom Fund, bailing out "dangerous criminals"
MINNEAPOLIS — Former President Donald Trump is using a 2022 Minnesota murder case to attack Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump claims Harris helped raise millions and personally donated to a fund that got extra support to bail out protestors in the aftermath of George Floyd's death.
"One of the dangerous criminals Kamala helped bail out of jail was Shawn Michael Tillman," Trump said at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. "You know that name. A repeat offender who, with Harris's help, was set free. He then went on to murder a man on a train platform in St. Paul, Minnesota, shooting him in cold blood six times, lying on the ground."
While parts of Trump's statement are true — Shawn Michael Tillman did murder a man in St. Paul after being released from jail — other parts of the former president's statement are misleading.
In June of 2020, just after George Floyd's death, then-California Sen. Kamala Harris tweeted, "If you're able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota."
Nearly two years later, on April 25, 2022, Tillman was arrested in St. Paul on a gross misdemeanor indecent exposure charge. Bail is set at $2,000 dollars and he is put in jail.
On May 3, 2022, the Minnesota Freedom Fund paid his $2,000 bail and he was released. On May 20, 2022, Tillman murdered a man at the light rail station in downtown St. Paul. He is now serving a life sentence for that crime.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund said, "It is not correct that then-Sen. Harris has donated to our organization. We have no relationship with Harris beyond a single four-year-old tweet."
The Harris for President campaign declined to comment.
Former President Trump and his running mate JD Vance are holding a rally in St. Cloud on Saturday night.
