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Scott Fitzgerald: “Shawn Michael Tillman, three weeks after having bail paid by…”

Featuring: Scott Fitzgerald, Republican | U.S. House of Representatives, Wisconsin, District 5

Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail

Published May 18, 2026 | Video Starts at 02:30

Michael DeWitt of Louisville, Kentucky was bailed out by the Bail Project in February of 2021 after being arrested on multiple charges. Two months later, he was arrested for murder. Shawn Michael Tillman, three weeks after having bail paid by the Minnesota Freedom Fund, murdered a man at a light rail station in St. Paul. and is now serving life sentence for that crime. So, Mr. Speaker, the list kind of continues to go on and on. (02:30–02:41)

CLAIM

Asserts that a person bailed out by the Minnesota Freedom Fund committed murder three weeks later.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Scott Fitzgerald

“The Minnesota Freedom Fund saw revenues increase by 18,000% between 2019 and 2020.”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 01:34-01:42
“The Minnesota Freedom Fund has bailed out at least 65 defendants who were awaiting trial on felony charges involving violence, physical…”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 02:55-03:06
“Nearly 42% of roughly 500 defendants bailed out by the Minnesota Freedom Fund later failed to appear at one or more court hearings between…”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 03:42-03:54
“Commercial bail companies, by comparison, had a failure to appear rate of only 22%.”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 03:53-04:00
“The bill defines the posting of cash bail by a corporate, nonprofit or for profit entity as engaged in the business of insurance.”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 00:09-00:20
“Charitable bail funds generally flew under the radar until 2020, when [the] George Floyd riots caused revenues to balloon.”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 01:05-01:16
“The Bail Project saw its contributions triple in 2020 to nearly $42 million.”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 01:42-01:50
“The Minnesota Freedom Fund released a domestic abuser back onto the street. Two weeks later, the man, George Howard, was charged with second…”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 02:06-02:16
“Michael DeWitt of Louisville, Kentucky was bailed out by the Bail Project in February of 2021 after being arrested on multiple charges. Two…”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 02:17-02:31
“In Indiana, of the roughly 1,000 defendants released on bail supplied by the bail project between 2019 and 2021, 24% had previously been…”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 03:07-03:21
“Georgia, for example, limits the amount of cash bonds a charitable bail fund can pay in a given year.”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 04:15-04:22
“Indiana prohibits the use of charitable bail funds for posting bail for violent felony offenders.”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 04:22-04:29
“This bill makes a small a very small but important change to our criminal code to define bail bonds as an insurance product.”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 04:42-04:51
“This change would also bring charitable bail funds under state insurance regulation.”
Scott Fitzgerald: This Is Why Congress Must Reform Charitable Bail Funds And Cashless Bail | Uploaded May 18, 2026 | 05:08-05:13