Far-left Michigan Democrat William Lawrence shared the stage during his campaign kickoff last year with a registered sex offender who served 14 years in prison for repeatedly raping his 12-year-old half-sister, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
Deshawn Bailey, 37, appeared, along with other local activists, on stage with Lawrence at the Aug. 27, 2025, campaign event, held in front of 150 supporters in downtown Lansing. Bailey, seen decked out in Michigan State University gear, calls himself an "organizer," "activist" and "one of the founding members" of Lawrence’s Rent is Too Damn High Coalition, a tenants’ union that aims for "affordable housing for all in the Lansing area."
Bailey is also a recently released ex-con who was convicted in 2010 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct of a person under 13 years old. According to court documents obtained by the Free Beacon, Bailey repeatedly raped his half-sister, starting when she was in the third grade. Some of the assaults took place when Bailey was over 18 and his victim younger than 13. He was released from prison in May 2024 after 14 years behind bars. He joined the Rent is Too Damn High Coalition on April 23, 2025, according to internal group records reviewed by the Free Beacon.
Those records list Bailey as a member of the Rent is Too Damn High Coalition and a member of the group’s homelessness union and building unionization teams.
Bailey is also featured on the coalition's website in a photo alongside Lawrence and other coalition members.
It raises a number of questions for Lawrence, who is running against Rep. Tom Barrett, a Republican, in one of the country’s most high-profile House races. House Democrats recently added Lawrence to their "red-to-blue" program, reserved for "top-tier" candidates the party believes have the best shot of flipping GOP-held seats.
But Republicans have cast Lawrence as a far-left radical, citing his remarks about the criminal justice system, capitalism, and the nuclear family.
Lawrence, a 36-year-old Hasan Piker superfan who let his Democratic Socialists membership lapse in July, has called for "a world without police and prisons." He’s stated "fuck the nuclear family," called for "abolishing the institution of marriage," and for "destroying the American way of life."
Lawrence, who has previously been a proponent of the so-called decarceration movement, has also pushed for legislation in Michigan prohibiting landlords from asking housing applicants about their criminal histories and felony convictions. Lawrence and his coalition have backed the Fair Chance Housing Act, an "anti-discrimination law for previously incarcerated people" that restricts landlords from requesting criminal history information in housing applications.
Reached by email, Bailey agreed to a phone interview but did not answer repeated phone calls. Bailey added a photo of the Lawrence campaign event to his social media page after the Free Beacon reached out for comment.
It is unclear whether Bailey has a formal role with Lawrence’s campaign. But he has posted several photos and videos of Lawrence campaign events, including footage from Lawrence’s primary victory party. Bailey posted photos of the ballot he cast for Lawrence during the Aug. 4 primary, and a photo sporting a Lawrence campaign T-shirt at a booth for another Michigan activist group.
Bailey and Lawrence are neighbors, living about a block apart, according to voting records.
Lawrence did not respond to requests for comment. His campaign and the Rent is Too Damn High Coalition did not respond to comment requests.
Bailey, whose social media accounts feature a number of videos of women’s sporting events at Michigan State and photos with various athletes at the school, was listed on Michigan’s sex offender registration website until last week, when the state removed records for more than 10,000 sex offenders in response to a Michigan Supreme Court ruling. The ruling ordered the removal of information on offenders who were convicted before 2011.
Bailey’s registration documents, which the Free Beacon reviewed before they were taken offline, list the same address as the one listed in the Rent is Too Damn High Coalition’s personnel database. Bailey has posted the same address to his social media accounts in ads seeking a roommate.
Bailey has also indicated support for Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, another left-wing Democrat who has called for leniency towards convicted felons.
In 2020, El-Sayed urged ex-cons, including child sex criminals, to run for political office, saying "we need your voice."
"I hope that you'll run, and I hope that when you do, you'll find me out and let me have the opportunity to support," El-Sayed told Joshua Hoe, a podcaster who served prison time for soliciting sex from underage girls in 2010, the Free Beacon reported.
