Man twice bailed out by Kamala Harris-backed fund — gets arrested again
A Minnesota man twice bailed out by a Vice President Kamala Harris-backed nonprofit group has been busted a third time on felony drug charges, authorities said.
Thomas Moseley’s latest collar stems from his arrest on Oct. 15, 2020, when he was picked up at a George Floyd-related protest and charged with damaging the Minneapolis Police Department’s Fifth Precinct months earlier, WCCO-TV reported.
Police found a handgun in his waistband and charged him with possession of a dangerous weapon.
Moseley, 29, of Minneapolis, was also busted on rioting charges from a Dec. 31, 2020, demonstration.
In both cases, he was freed with the help of the Minnesota Freedom Fund — which fronted his $5,000 bail in the October case and $60,000 in the December case, Fox News reported, citing a criminal complaint.
Established in 2016, the fund has vowed to put up cash to help protesters get released from jail, though it faced extreme scrutiny over the summer after admitting it had only spent $200,000 in bail money — despite being flooded with more than $30 million in donations.
In June, Harris pushed for contributions to the nonprofit.
“If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota,” she wrote.
Moseley’s most recent case is related to his October arrest. During a search of his pickup truck, police found a cache of weapons — “three handguns, a shotgun and a semi-automatic rifle as well as a panel for stopping bullets in a bullet-proof vest, a gas mask and about 50 bullets,” according to prosecutors.
They also found marijuana, cocaine and psychotropic mushrooms resulting in his most recent arrest on three felony counts of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm.
Bail in the drug case was set at $250,000. Hennepin County Jail records show that Moseley remains in custody.
He is also under investigation on suspicion he used a straw buyer to buy a semiautomatic weapon on Jan. 7 and Jan. 12 — with jail records showing he’d just been released from prison on Jan. 5, Fox News said.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund has bailed out other defendants on violent crimes, according to an August report from Fox 9.
They include Darnika Floyd, charged with second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of a friend. The fund paid $100,000 cash for her release, the outlet said.
Twice-convicted rapist Christopher Boswell was sprung on $350,000 cash bail on two separate cases involving kidnapping, assault and sexual assault charges.
The nonprofit released a lengthy statement to WCCO-TV in response to Moseley’s cases, saying, “We do not make determinations of bail support based on the crimes that individuals are alleged to have committed.”
“Freedom Fund believes that every individual who has been arrested by the police is innocent until proven guilty, and should not have to wait in jail simply because they do not have the same income or resources as others with more financial privilege,” it said.
It also reiterated a statement from Moseley’s attorney that said, “This is a persecution of a political activist with prosecutors using an organization that helps pay people’s bail as an excuse to raise their bail.”
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