Colin Kaepernick said he is setting up a legal defense fund to help people who were arrested during protests in Minneapolis this week.
"In fighting for liberation there‘s always retaliation. We must protect our Freedom Fighters. We started a legal defense initiative to give legal representation to Freedom Fighters in Minneapolis paid for by @yourrightscamp," Kaepernick said in a tweet.
In fighting for liberation there‘s always retaliation. We must protect our Freedom Fighters. We started a legal defense initiative to give legal representation to Freedom Fighters in Minneapolis paid for by @yourrightscamp
For representation or to donate https://t.co/q0pzAObCiG
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) May 29, 2020
Dozens of people have been arrested during protests in the wake of George Floyd's death after former police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for eight minutes.
Thousands of people have retweeted a photo of Kaepernick side by side with a picture of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck. The activist was blackballed from the NFL after protesting police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem in 2017.
If you’re unbothered or mildly bothered by the 1st knee, but outraged by the 2nd, then, in my father’s words, you’re “more devoted to order than to justice.” And more passionate about an anthem that supposedly symbolizes freedom than you are about a Black man’s freedom to live. pic.twitter.com/kxpVOEeTNR
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) May 26, 2020
Even LeBron James shared the image.
Since the protests began earlier this week, celebrities and people online have been donating to the Minneapolis Freedom Fund to help pay to bail out those arrested by police.
Police have been criticized for their arbitrary arrest tactics during the week in Minneapolis, sparking widespread outrage on Friday morning when they arrested a Black CNN reporter live on television as he reported the news, as Blavity previously reported.
The situation was criticized by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who also apologized to CNN for the arrest.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report Kaepernick's decision to help protesters out through his organization, which has also been heavily involved in COVID-19 relief efforts.
On Thursday, Kaepernick wrote a powerful message on Instagram showing support for the protesters.
"When civility leads to death, revolting is the only logical reaction. The cries for peace will rain down, and when they do, they will land on deaf ears because your violence has brought this resistance. We have the right to fight back! Rest in power George Floyd," he wrote.
