The bail fund that freed a Louisville, Ky., Black Lives Matter activist charged with trying to murder a Jewish mayoral candidate is backed by Democratic fundraising juggernaut ActBlue, a progressive political group affiliated with the "Squad," and a liberal nonprofit funded by George Soros.
The Louisville Community Bail Fund, an affiliate of the city's Black Lives Matter chapter, posted $100,000 bail on Wednesday to spring Quintez Brown from jail following his arrest on charges of trying to assassinate Jewish Democratic mayoral hopeful Craig Greenberg. The group's ability to quickly procure such a hefty sum comes thanks to its support from prominent Democratic organizations.
The bail fund, for example, has an active page on ActBlue, the political fundraising platform used universally by Democratic candidates across the country. Justice Democrats—a far-left PAC that supports Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.)—also actively fundraises for the bail group on the platform. Contributions sent to the Louisville Community Bail Fund through ActBlue are routed through the Tides Center, a liberal dark money behemoth that has received millions of dollars from Soros. Tides gave nearly $740,000 to the bail fund in 2020, tax filings show.
The Louisville Community Bail Fund's presence on the Democratic Party's leading fundraising platform undercuts party leaders' repeated denials of being soft on crime. The Democratic National Committee used ActBlue to rake in nearly $500 million in 2020, the same year Vice President Kamala Harris used the platform to promote a similar bail fund that freed an alleged domestic abuser weeks before he was arrested again for murder.
ActBlue, Justice Democrats, and the Tides Center did not return requests for comment.
On Monday, police charged Brown with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment after he allegedly entered Greenberg's campaign office, pulled a gun, and began shooting. A prominent Louisville activist, Brown accused police of working to "maintain the status quo of the spectacular Black death" in a 2021 Louisville Courier Journal column. Greenberg, meanwhile, is an unabashed supporter of police—his campaign is centered on a plan to root out violent crime by hiring more law enforcement officers.
Roughly two days after Brown's arrest, the Louisville Community Bail Fund submitted $100,000 to secure the activist's release. The fund, which was cofounded by Black Lives Matter Louisville organizer Chanelle Helm, has also paid to bail out accused rapists and murderers, including one woman who allegedly beat her boyfriend to death before hiding his remains and another who police said shot a man in the back of the head as he walked away from an argument.
Helm is no stranger to calls for political violence. The activist garnered national attention in 2019 after she led a protest outside of Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell's (R., Ky.) home in Louisville. In a live video, Helm said McConnell—who was recovering from a shoulder injury at the time—"should have broken his little raggedy, wrinkled-ass neck." Helm also told a fellow protester to "just stab the motherfucker in the heart" after the man referenced a McConnell voodoo doll. She refused to apologize for her comments after the protest, telling the Courier Journal that McConnell "doesn't care about people who actually do break their necks."
A veteran Republican strategist called it "wild" that ActBlue would help raise money for "people with a history of politically violent rhetoric."
"The double standard is incredible when it comes to platform access," the strategist told the Washington Free Beacon. "Kyle Rittenhouse couldn't raise money on GoFundMe for his legal defense, but BLM can bail out someone accused of attempted assassination. Anybody who doesn't denounce that is a hypocrite."
Both Brown and Helm have deep ties to Kentucky Democratic Party officials. Brown spoke at the 2019 campaign launch rally for Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Charles Booker, who is running to unseat Republican incumbent Rand Paul in 2022. Helm, meanwhile, was on the Kentucky State Democratic Central Executive Committee's payroll around the time of her infamous McConnell protest—campaign finance records show the group paid her nearly $5,700 from September to November 2019.
In a Thursday morning statement, Greenberg criticized the Louisville Community Bail Fund's decision to secure Brown's release, saying the move "traumatized" him and his family.
"It is nearly impossible to believe that someone can attempt murder on Monday and walk out of jail on Wednesday," the Democrat said. "If someone is struggling with a mental illness and is in custody, they should be evaluated and treated in custody. Sadly, like others who suffer from a broken system, my team and family have been traumatized again by this."