On Friday, the Minnesota Senate passed legislation reining in charitable bail organizations (CBO) that have been side-stepping Minnesota’s criminal justice system bailing out violent and repeat offenders who put victims and the public at risk.

“Allowing violent criminals to receive charitable bail puts our communities at risk,” Senator Mary Kiffmeyer said Friday. “Those who are donating to the organizations do so under the assumption that it will go towards deserving people, not violent criminals who are looking for the opportunity to re-offend. I believe Minnesotans deserve transparency in these organizations and this is a commonsense compromise.”

This legislation requires that charitable bail organizations disclose a record of who was bailed out, who posted the bond, how much money was used, and the total amount returned to the charitable bail organization. People charged with crimes remain eligible for bail through traditional bail programs. This will only limit those criminals with a violent history or charge from being bailed out by organizations dedicated to emptying jails.

This issue first rose to prominence when a story was published regarding the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) and its role in bailing out violent criminals during the 2020 Minneapolis and St. Paul riots. The leader of the MFF openly said he didn’t put effort into making sure he wasn’t bailing out violent criminals, going as far as saying, “I often don’t even look at the charge when I bail someone out.”

Among those bailed out was a suspect who shot at police, a woman accused of killing a friend, and a twice-convicted sex offender.  Another report detailed a story of an offender who the MFF bailed out after a violent assault who promptly reoffended and beat a victim so severely they were left with a traumatic brain injury.