Who is Timothy Wayne Columbus? Biden-Harris backed bail fund helps release man accused of child sexual assault
The Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF), a charity promoted by Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, helped free a 36-year-old man charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly sexually assaulting a young girl. She was around eight years old.
MFF also bailed out a man who allegedly broke into the house of a 71-year-old woman and tortured her, and a man accused of curb-stomping and robbing another man who walked with a cane the same day that George Floyd died. Records of the fund assisting these individuals and others were obtained by Alpha News in collaboration with the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF).
Harris and more than 10 campaign employees linked to Biden have requested donations from their followers and supporters during the demonstrations in Minneapolis this summer. On June 2, 2020, Harris tweeted, "If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota."
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
President Donald Trump slammed the fund on August 31 and said, "Thirteen members of Biden’s campaign staff donated to bail and — rioters — they’re getting them out of jail. Looters — they got them out of jail. And his running mate, Kamala, urged their supporters to do the same thing.”
Who is Timothy Wayne Columbus?
Timothy Wayne Columbus, a 36-year-old-man, is charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly penetrating a girl in 2015 when she was about eight. A warrant was issued for his arrest on June 25. But he was later bailed out of jail and according to a court document, filed to have his bail money returned to MFF.
The arrest warrant against Columbus states that the girl who was allegedly assaulted lived with her grandmother, who regularly spent time with her friend "Tim," while the girl was seven and eight years old. When the girl was about eight, the victim told police, "'Tim' laid her on her couch and held her down as he unbuckled his pants and then pulled down her pants. The victim stated he then 'put his thing inside me.'"
The warrant also states, "Victim's grandmother stated that one day when the defendant was leaving her daughter's home she saw victim outside and heard defendant tell victim "This is our secret." Victim's grandmother thought the statement was strange and asked victim about what that meant but the victim did not want to talk about it."
The maximum sentence for the crimes Columbus is accused of is 30 years of imprisonment. Columbus has denied these allegations to police, as reported by Fox News. In this case, the bail money was set at $75,000 for conditional release and $300,000 for unconditional release.
"MFF believes that every individual who has been arrested by the police 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 resources as others with more privilege," MFF says on its website.