Vegas Celebrity-Backed Woke Bail Fund Shut Down

Dec 27, 2022

The Bail Project, whose celebrity backers include Richard Branson, Danny Glover, and John Legend, announced its demise. The Las Vegas chapter officially shut down this month over the case of Rashawn Gaston-Anderson.

Anderson was arrested in November 2021 for burglary and theft but was released after The Bail Project paid his $3,000 bail. One week later, Gaston-Anderson went into a restaurant and opened fire on an Asian waiter named Chengyan Wang, shooting him 11 times and almost killing him.

Gaston-Anderson, 24 pled guilty to felony mayhem and attempted robbery with a weapon and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Wang survived and is now suing The Bail Project over the incident. Wang’s lawsuit blames The Bail Project for paying to free Gaston Anderson in spite of his criminal record.

Similar nonprofits have sprung up since the Black Lives Matter riots of summer 2020 to help free suspected criminals unable to afford bail.

The Bail Project claims the bail system reinforces a two-tiered justice system, that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and that it’s unfair for a poor person to be stuck behind bars while richer defendants can walk free.

But recent history has shown that cities and states that have sought to limit the use of bail have all seen record spikes in crime, especially violent crimes.

In 2019 and then again in 2021, the Democrat controlled Nevada Legislature passed numerous bail reform laws reducing the amount of bail a person needed to get out of jail regardless of their passed arrests, regardless of how many times they were arrested while on bail. The Dems lowered crimes like breaking into cars down from a felony to a misdemeanor, including lowering their bails. Breaking into a home is now just a property crime. Tell that to folks who walk in on a burglary in their home.

According to local news reports, there were 87 murders in 2019. After Sisolak passed Criminal Justice reforms in the 2019 legislature, murders skyrocketed by 70% up to 148 in 2021.

Governor-Elect Joe Lombardo’s campaign issued the following statement on the campaign trail

“As governor, Joe will reverse Sisolak’s soft-on-crime policies and put an end to his dangerous legislation that makes our streets less safe. Joe believes fully funding the police is essential to public safety, and he will always support Nevada law enforcement.”