Crowd funds top $50K for Tampa man charged in Jan. 6 riots. Where should it go?

[Zorro]

Jeremy Brown’s supporters gave more than $57,000 for his defense, though he has a court-appointed lawyer.

TAMPA — Ever since Jeremy Michael Brown’s arrest in September, he has fought hard to get out of jail. Federal prosecutors have fought just as hard to keep him locked up.

Facing two separate federal cases — one in Washington D.C. for his alleged participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, siege at the Capitol, and another for some illegal weapons, among them two hand grenades agents said they found in a search of his Tampa home — Brown lost a lengthy legal battle last month for release on bond.

This month came a new fight about money.

Brown, 47, has attracted a significant base of supporters. A 20-year Army veteran who briefly ran for Congress in Tampa in 2020, he is a frequent guest on far-right political podcasts and internet shows.

In recent weeks, a crowd-funding web page bearing his picture, and a message he apparently wrote from the Pinellas County Jail, has tallied more than $57,000 in contributions, ostensibly intended to pay for his defense.

The trouble is, Brown already has a court-appointed lawyer, whose services come courtesy of a federal law intended to help the accused who are financially unable to retain legal counsel.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/tampa/2022/01/19/crowd-funds-top-50k-for-tampa-man-charged-in-jan-6-riots-where-should-it-go/