Minnesota man says Trump campaign unfairly targets him
A man who was arrested in 2020 and charged with the attempted murder of two Minneapolis police officers is crying foul about the way he’s being portrayed by Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
In a social media post on X on July 23, the “Trump War Room” posted this: “Meet Jaleel Stallings. In June 2020, Stallings was charged with the attempted murder of two police officers during the 2020 riots.
@KamalaHarris raised money to bail Stallings out of jail.”
“They leave out the fact I was defending myself,” Stallings told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS in a Zoom interview from Houston, TX, where he recently relocated. “They leave out the fact I wasn’t the aggressor in that situation and even the fact I was acquitted of all charges.”
At trial, it was shown that a group of Minneapolis police officers were firing non-lethal projectiles at people without identifying themselves or warning anyone.
“There was no command given. No warning. No anything. As soon as I came into view, they fired upon me,” Stallings said. He initially returned fire with a legally permitted handgun before he knew it was police who were shooting at him.
The Trump campaign also leaves out the fact an officer pleaded guilty for kicking and hitting Stallings while he was defenseless on the ground. Also, the City of Minneapolis later paid Stallings a $1.5 million settlement in the case.
It is true Kamala Harris posted a Tweet in 2020 before she was vice president supporting the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which has raised millions to help bail out people who can’t afford it while they await trial. Some of the people the fund has bailed out have gone on to commit other crimes, but Stallings isn’t one of them. The fund paid $75,000 to bail Stallings out in 2020.
The “Trump War Room” post hasn’t been deleted or retracted, although X now includes a notation on the post that reads: “Readers added context. Jaleel Stallings was acquitted after cops shot him from an unmarked van because he was out past curfew. A jury found that Stallings—who had a concealed carry permit—acted in self-defense. One of the officers involved has been charged with assaulting Stallings.”
The Minnesota Freedom Fund and support from Harris have become frequent fodder for Republicans, including Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer at the Republican National Convention last week. “When Minneapolis was in flames and businesses were in ruins, Kamala Harris encouraged and enabled the criminals and the rioters,” he said. “Oh, it gets worse. She even promoted a fund to release the criminals from jail.”
On June 1, 2020, then-Senator Kamala Harris posted this: “If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota.”
She hasn’t mentioned the group since, but her post did help the group raise money. It was reposted 14,000 times and liked 3,900 times.
Although Stallings has relocated to Houston, he still runs a nonprofit in the Twin Cities called the Good Apple Initiative aimed at improving community-police relations.