Criminal Charged with Murder after Being Freed by Kamala Harris Bail Fund
George Howard arrested for deadly shooting during violent road rage altercation
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A violent criminal, who was released from custody by Democrat Kamala Harris's bail fund, has now been charged with murder, according to reports.
48-year-old George Howard, an alleged domestic abuser from Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been arrested and charged with brutally murdering a stranger during a violent altercation.
He is accused of murdering the victim just weeks after being released thanks to a bail fund backed by Harris.
Howard was bailed out by the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) on August 6 after being held on an $11,500 bond on charges of domestic abuse.
However, just weeks later, Howard was charged with murder over allegations he shot another driver on the Interstate 94 highway during a horrifying road rage incident on August 29.
Howard allegedly got out of his car on an I-94 entrance ramp and executed another driver, according to Minneapolis police.
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Surveillance video recorded the moments when the driver of a blue BMW was killed by Howard, who was driving a white Volvo, according to St. Paul’s KSTP-TV.
The victim can be seen collapsing after trying to defend himself as Howard guns him down.
If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota. https://t.co/t8LXowKIbw
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 1, 2020
The victim, later identified as Luis Damian Martinez Ortiz, 38, got back into his car, then drove into the median.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to city officials.
Howard had been out on $11,500 bond in connection with a domestic assault case since Aug. 6, court records show.
That’s when the Minnesota Freedom Fund bailed him out.
On Aug. 29, he was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the interstate shooting.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund tweeted Friday admitting to its role in putting Howard back on the streets.
On Tuesday, the thread was inaccessible on Twitter but preserved by the Internet Archive.
"We are aware of reports of the tragic and fatal shooting in Minneapolis earlier this week allegedly involving George Howard, an individual the Minnesota Freedom Fund had previously provided with bail support," the group wrote.
"MFF believes that every individual who has been arrested by the law enforcement is innocent until proven guilty, and if a judge deems them eligible for bail, they should not have to wait in jail simply because they don’t have the same income or access to resources as others."
The group said it was monitoring the case and reviewing its policies.
"Under new leadership, MFF has implemented changes to its policies and procedures, and we will continue to assess them to ensure that we are being responsive to the safety and needs of our community," it said in a follow-up tweet.
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Harris had promoted the bail group during the 2020 campaign, urging her Twitter followers to donate to the group in June of that year.
A spokesperson for the vice president declined to comment Tuesday.
"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, linking to the group’s donation site on ActBlue, a Democratic PAC.
Once funds are received the donors have no say in whose bail they go to cover, and the Freedom Fund has drawn criticism along the way, with reports that it had been bailing out violent criminals cropping up as early as last August.
Minneapolis-based FOX 9 reported that the fund spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to free an alleged knife murderer and a convicted rapist who was facing charges of sexual assault and kidnapping, among others.
