Midwest
'Makes me fearful': Minnesota woman whose attacker freed by Harris-supported bail fund speaks out
EXCLUSIVE: A 79-year-old Somali American woman in Minnesota, who was shot by an assailant ultimately released with the help of a bail fund supported by Vice President Kamala Harris, is speaking out against the vice president, telling Fox News Digital that her record raised questions about her “judgment and priorities in office.”
Halima Farah, who came to the U.S. in 2005 and became a citizen in 2011, recounted her “traumatic experience” on Jan. 2, 2021. She was shot and robbed of her rent money outside her Minneapolis apartment by De’Seanna Williams, police said at the time. Farah said she suffered bone fractures to her shoulder blade and skull, hemorrhages in her skull, lacerations on her face and had a gunshot wound to her upper thigh and buttocks area.
Williams was arrested after the attack but was bailed out by the Minnesota Freedom Fund, a fund that Harris promoted during the George Floyd riots in 2020.
In a blog post on Medium on May 31, 2020, then-Sen. Harris asked for individuals to “make a contribution to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, an organization working on the ground in Minnesota to post bail for arrested protesters.”
KAMALA HARRIS-BACKED ‘FREEDOM FUND’ THAT PUT MURDERERS, RAPISTS BACK ON STREETS STILL UP AND RUNNING
Halima Farah in her apartment in Minneapolis on Oct. 26, 2024. (Photo courtesy Fowzi Media | Hussein Noor)
Harris also posted in support of the Minnesota Freedom Fund that June as protests over the police death of Floyd in Minneapolis swept the country.
“If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota,” she posted, along with a link to donate.
The post is still live on the site, and the link now re-directs to an ActBlue page headlined, “Kamala Harris for the People,” encouraging individuals to “make a donation to the Minnesota Freedom Fund.”
“Your support will help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota,” the website states.
Only a fraction of the more than $41 million raised actually went to freeing rioters, according to a FOX 9 report in 2020. The Minnesota Freedom Fund has reportedly bailed out defendants from prisons in Minnesota who had been charged with murder, violent felonies and sex crimes.
The Minnesota Freedom Fund did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
MINNESOTA MAN FREED BY KAMALA HARRIS-SUPPORTED BAIL FUND NOW CHARGED WITH MURDER
Farah, who does not speak English, provided her responses to Fox News Digital’s questions through her translator via email.
Farah told Fox News Digital that Harris’ promotion of the fund “should spark questions and debates over her suitability for higher office.”
“I believe that a president should not support measures that may lead to the release of violent criminals,” Farah said. “The implications of such policies are serious and warrant careful consideration.”
Halima Farah, left, and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Fowzi Media | Hussein Noor & Getty)
“Kamala Harris does not deserve to serve as President of the United States, and her tenure as vice president has weakened my rights,” Farah continued. “Also, her encouragement of donations to the Minnesota Freedom Fund is terrible to my safety and my life.”
Farah said, “the idea that the vice president would support bail for violent offenders is troubling to me and makes me fearful.”
“It raises questions about her judgment and priorities in office,” she said.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, depart after speaking during a campaign rally at Burns Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
After she was released on bail with the help of the Minnesota Freedom Fund for beating, shooting and robbing Farah, Williams committed a non-violent crime of felony check forgery. Williams later pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree aggravated robbery and one count of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. She was sentenced to prison as part of the plea agreement and is expected to be released in April 2025.
“I realized that I didn’t get justice at all,” Farah told Fox News Digital, saying the Minnesota Freedom Fund “fosters criminal behavior and leaves victims without a sense of justice.”
BAIL FUND BACKED BY KAMALA HARRIS FREED SAME RIOTER TWICE – NOW HE’S BEEN CHARGED AGAIN
Farah went on to slam Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, for rising crime in the state.
“I don’t feel safe right now in the United States, especially in our state of Minnesota after the riots of George Floyd and the aftermath under Gov. Walz’ watch,” Farah said.
Minnesota murder rates have risen under Walz’s leadership.
Walz was sworn in as governor in 2019. Data from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety reviewed by Fox News Digital shows that in 2018, the year before Walz took office, the state recorded 104 murders, a figure that increased by more than 12% in 2019, when the state recorded 117 murders. Murders in the state in 2020, when violent crimes spiked nationwide, skyrocketed to 185. In 2021, the state recorded 201 murders, 182 in 2022 and 172 last year.
Data from the state shows that in the four years before Walz took office, from 2015-2018, there was an average of about 113 murders recorded in the state each year, which has increased to 171 murders, according to the yearly average under Walz’s five years as governor.
FBI crime data reviewed by Fox News Digital shows that homicides in 2017, Trump’s first year in office, slightly dipped nationally from 15,320 in 2016 to 15,312 in 2017. The data shows violent crime again dipped in 2018, at 14,604 homicides, and again in 2019 to 14,678, before skyrocketing in 2020 amid the riots to 18,965 homicides.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Farah told Fox News Digital she believes that “former President Donald Trump is tough on crime and criminals.”
“I would feel more comfortable and relieved having Trump in the White House,” she said. “I would also encourage anyone who loves this country not to vote for her.”
Farah said she hopes “to meet former President Trump or his running mate JD Vance before the election to share my concerns and fears.”
The Harris-Walz campaign declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
Read the full article from Here
A marijuana dispensary chain with locations in Springfield and Columbia is again facing allegations of creating a monopoly to take advantage of the Missouri recreational marijuana market.
Damon Toussaint Frost Jr. filed a class-action lawsuit May 4 in Jackson County Circuit Court against Good Day Farm, Missouri’s largest dispensary chain.
Frost, who is identified in the court filing as a Missouri resident who has purchased recreational cannabis from GDF, alleges that the dispensary chain’s and its affiliates have conspired to monopolize recreational cannabis sales in Missouri, resulting in Missouri consumers paying significantly higher prices than they would have in a free market. Frost and other class members — defined in the suit as Missouri citizens who have purchased recreational cannabis products from Good Day Farm or its affiliates in Missouri — are seeking that the “illegal conspiracy” be dismantled and that they be compensated for damages.
Frost is represented by Michael Williams of Williams Dirks Dameron in Kansas City. Williams did not respond to a request for comment as of publication.
A spokesperson for GDF denied the allegations.
“The claims in this lawsuit are baseless and without merit. Our company operates in full compliance with all applicable Missouri state laws and regulations, and we will vigorously defend that record,” the spokesperson wrote in an email Friday, May 15, afternoon. “We will not allow aggressive legal tactics to distract us from what matters most: our mission to deliver uninterrupted service and exceptional products to the patients, customers and employees who rely on us.”
This isn’t the first class-action lawsuit filed against the dispensary chain. In April, two Missouri-licensed cultivators and manufacturers alleged that GDF violated the Missouri Constitution and created a “cartel.”
Like in the April lawsuit, Frost’s lawsuit alleges that the “GDF consortium” — which includes Good Day Farm Dispensaries, Codes Dispensaries, Greenlight, 3Fifteen Primo and Fresh Karma — has control of about 25% of dispensary licenses in Missouri. The Missouri Constitution mandates that entities are limited to owning, controlling or managing no more than 10% of the total dispensary licenses in Missouri.
In order to circumvent the 10% cap, GDF “arranged for investors to invest into limited liability companies” that would then acquire already-licensed entities from owners, court records said, and would then be operated by GDF. The lawsuit alleges that GDF created four limited liability companies.
It also alleges that GDF employees, including the compliance director, general counsel and former director of investor relations, were listed on paperwork for various Codes, Greenlight and Fresh Karma dispensaries.
“Defendants anticompetitive conduct (i) robs consumers of choice and selection of products, and (ii) leaves third parties to compete for a significantly (and increasingly) small sliver of shelf space in the overall Missouri market,” the petition said. “In addition, Defendants misconduct will likely result in fewer competitive brands on the market, substantially reduced diversity of products available and sold, and, ultimately, to fewer choices, lower quality, and higher prices for consumers.”
What the hell happened to my life?
My inner monologue was deafening in the stillness of the Nebraska morning. I hadn’t heard myself this clearly since high school five years ago, before I pushed off into life as an actress in New York City. I couldn’t be sure what made my thoughts so loud—maybe it was whiplash, my abrupt move from filming HBO’s High Maintenance to my childhood stomping grounds.
Submitted Photo
U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, spoke about the connection between North Dakota, the United States and Norway at the 12th annual Norwegian-American Defense Conference held April 17, where he delivered the congressional keynote address.
WASHINGTON – North Dakota’s deep Norwegian roots reflect the broad, long-standing relationship between the United States and Norway, one built on shared values, cultural ties and security cooperation.
U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, spoke about the connection between the two countries at the 12th annual Norwegian-American Defense Conference held April 17, where he delivered the congressional keynote address.
He described the bond as historic and strategic, but also personal. His great-great-great grandfather, Erik Hjelden, fought in the Norwegian War of Independence prior to Norway adopting a constitution on May 17, 1814, Norway’s Independence Day known as Syttende Mai.
Starting in the 1870s, Scandinavian immigrants from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland settled across what is now North Dakota. Today, one-third of the state’s population is of Norwegian descent, and North Dakota has the highest percentage of citizens with Norwegian ancestry of any state in the nation.
“I love the theme of this year’s conference, ‘From Seabed to Space,’ because I do think the size of the country is not nearly as important as the dynamic that happens when one plus one equals more than two,” Cramer said. “At a time when there’s talent on the factory floor, and talent in the executive suites, and talent in the engineering room, that we may have one or the other, maybe all. But together the dynamic of it is so much greater.”
Cramer emphasized how this foundation now supports a modern defense partnership. He said the United States and Norway are working together on Arctic security, aiming to strengthen interoperability and improve readiness across multi-domain operations. This alliance plays a key role in addressing today’s international security challenges.
Cramer also recognized the U.S.-Norway partnership through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as well as the history between the two countries.
“When you look at a globe, it illustrates why the Arctic is so important,” continued Cramer. “None of us can protect our silo without protecting our country, without protecting our continent, without protecting our hemisphere, without protecting ourselves. We protect one another by protecting ourselves, and we protect ourselves by protecting one another.”
Throughout his years in Congress, Cramer has been active in the House and Senate Friends of Norway caucuses. He hosted former Norwegian Ambassador to the U.S. Anniken Krutnes when she visited North Dakota in 2024, highlighting the state’s Norwegian heritage, economic strength and its role in advancing U.S.-Norway defense and national security cooperation. During the visit, Krutnes and Cramer emphasized the importance of strong alliances and the longstanding partnership between the two nations during various community stops, including events at the Sons of Norway Kringen Lodge and First Lutheran Church. The visit also focused on defense priorities, with a briefing at the North Dakota National Guard’s 119th Wing regarding the mission of the “Happy Hooligans,” before concluding with a public reception ahead of the Fargo premiere of the Norwegian film Songs of Earth.
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