An ex-convict and alumni of left wing billionaire George Soros’s fellowship program is at the helm of a $20,000,000 effort to get rioters out of jail as soon as possible in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) is an organization dedicated to quickly putting suspected criminals back on the streets by using donated money to pay their bails. During an average year, the MFF raises about $100,000 to bail out illegal aliens apprehended by ICE. However, since protests began following the death of George Floyd while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), the fund raked in over $20,000,000 in 4 days, per the NYT. This rapid influx of cash is likely due to the stunning amount of promotion the MFF has received from countless celebrities and politicians.
The woman chiefly responsible for directing the MFF is Tonja Honsey. Honsey was named a “Soros fellow” in 2019. Organizers and leaders of “full-time criminal justice reform projects,” like Honsey, who are selected for a fellowship are awarded either $94,500 or $127,500 depending on their level of experience per Open Society Foundations. Open Society Foundations is a philanthropic network founded by Soros that operates with an endowment of roughly $20,000,000,000.
Before she earned a Soros fellowship or ascended to the highest position at a multimillion dollar charitable organization, Honsey was a drug addict who did multiple stints in jail— one of which occurred after she was arrested during a meth lab bust, reports Breitbart. Now, she describes herself as “an incarceration survivor,” per the Star Tribune.
Honsey didn’t found the MFF though. Rather, the organization was started in by Simon Cecil in 2016 who received his original seed money from the University of Minnesota (UMN), according to the Tribune. Cecil did graduate from UMN, but was 34 years old when the University gave him $5,000 to kickstart the fund.
In addition to helping arrested rioters regain their freedom, the MFF advocates a gambit of progressive causes. It recently criticized Tim Walz via a typo-ridden tweet after the Minnesota Governor did not fully commit to dismantling the MPD.
We’re gonna need you @GovTimWalz to do better then vauge promises of change. Defund the Police. End Money Bail. Rebuild our small BIPOC owned businesses. https://t.co/HZkIgX2q3s
— Minnesota Freedom Fund (@MNFreedomFund) May 30, 2020
The fund has also faced significant criticism as skeptics worry that the millions of dollars it’s raising may end up funding politically related aims and not just paying bails.
President Donald Trump recently blasted the MFF after several members of Joe Biden’s staff donated to the cause. Biden’s staff and the Freedom Fund are “working to get the Anarchists out of jail, and probably more,” according to the president.
Sleepy Joe Biden’s people are so Radical Left that they are working to get the Anarchists out of jail, and probably more. Joe doesn’t know anything about it, he is clueless, but they will be the real power, not Joe. They will be calling the shots! Big tax increases for all, Plus!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2020
Soros also funds the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) which has been described as “Antifa’s most important enabler” and its “legal arm.” The NLG and MFF are closely partnered. Protestors have been directed to call the NLG if they are arrested because the NLG will then collaborate with the MFF to source bail money.
Kyle Hooten
Kyle Hooten is Managing Editor of Alpha News. His coverage of Minneapolis has been featured on television shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight and in print media outlets like the Wall Street Journal.
