IN-DEPTH: Jan 6 Prisoners Defend Themselves as Government Targets Crowdfunding Accounts

IN-DEPTH: Jan 6 Prisoners Defend Themselves as Government Targets Crowdfunding Accounts
A gavel resting on a table in a file image. Rod Lamkey/Getty Images
Patricia Tolson
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A Jan. 6 prisoner is preparing to defend himself against government efforts to confiscate crowdfunding dollars by filing a complaint against a federal judge.

According to the draft of the complaint (pdf), obtained exclusively by The Epoch Times, Jan. 6 prisoner Jeremy Brown is accusing Magistrate Judge Sean Flynn of the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, of judicial misconduct “concerning events that transpired” during his criminal prosecution.

“It is my reasonable belief that Magistrate Flynn violated the Erie Doctrine; the Fifth, Sixth, and Tenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the jurisdiction of the state of Florida, and Florida’s trust laws,” Brown’s draft complaint states.

In his handwritten presentencing notes, Brown says he was provided a revised presentence investigation report “one working week” before his April 7 sentencing date, “well beyond the Mid-March deadline for changes.”

A March 2 presentence report (pdf) had set Brown’s total assets at $189.92 and advised he “did not presently have the ability to pay a fine, and is unlikely to become able to pay a fine.”
The total assets for Jan. 6 prisoner Jeremy Brown, according to court documents. (Screenshot/The Epoch Times)
The total assets for Jan. 6 prisoner Jeremy Brown, according to court documents. Screenshot/The Epoch Times
Notice of ability to pay a fine for Jan. 6 prisoner Jeremy Brown in court documents. (Screenshot/The Epoch Times)
Notice of ability to pay a fine for Jan. 6 prisoner Jeremy Brown in court documents. Screenshot/The Epoch Times
The amended March 30 presentence report (pdf) suggested Brown “has the ability to pay a fine” because the government now set his total assets at $170,114.92 because of a sudden increase of $169,925—the exact amount Brown says prosecutors discovered in his GiveSendGo crowdfunding account.
The updated total assets for Jan. 6 prisoner Jeremy Brown, according to court documents. (Screenshot/The Epoch Times)
The updated total assets for Jan. 6 prisoner Jeremy Brown, according to court documents. Screenshot/The Epoch Times

Capitol Terrorist Exposers

Brown’s crowdfunding account was discovered by a monitoring group dedicated to turning in Jan 6 protesters.
In a Feb. 9, 2022, letter to Assistant U.S. Attorney Risha Asokan obtained by The Epoch Times (pdf), a representative of a “monitoring group” called the Capitol Terrorist Exposers (CTE) said they could provide information regarding Brown’s GiveSendGo account.

The CTE representative, whose name was redacted in the letter, acknowledged that Brown’s GiveSendGo account “created on his behalf is controlled by a trust beyond his control.” The writer also said the account “represented that it was a ‘Campaign Created by: Jeremy Brown’ as late as Jan. 30, 2022,” but has “been altered to say that it presently reads ‘Campaign Created by: Patriots.’”

Where it once said “checks can be received” by Brown’s girlfriend, Tyleen Aldridge, at a specific P.O. Box, it has been revised to simply provide the P.O. Box address.

Both The New York Times and the New Yorker have cited the research by Capitol Terrorists Exposers, describing them as an online group that monitors conservatives and has played a key role in identifying those who participated in the Jan. 6 protests.
In May 2022, NBC reported that CTE is part of “Sedition Hunters,” an online community tracking and locating Jan. 6 suspects.
CTE has since had its Twitter account suspended.

The Confiscation of Crowdfunding Money

As previously reported by The Epoch Times, the U.S. government has spent over two years pursuing everyone it can find who participated in the U.S. Capitol protests on Jan. 6, 2021.

To this day, the FBI is actively “seeking the public’s assistance in identifying individuals” who were involved in any way with the events of that day, warning that they have deployed their “full investigative resources and are working closely with our federal, state, and local partners to aggressively pursue those involved in these criminal activities.”

J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in Washington on March 28, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)
J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in Washington on March 28, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
A review of court records by The Associated Press showed that prosecutors in over 1,000 Jan. 6 cases have asked judges to impose fines with dollar amounts set specifically to consume the entire amount donated by supporters. According to calculations, the government has used its judicial arm to snatch more than $390,000 in fines slapped on at least 21 Jan. 6 defendants. Amounts range from $450 to over $71,000.

In the case of Daniel Goodwyn, The Epoch Times reported that prosecutors asked for “a fine of $25,676.25,” the exact amount of money his mother said was in his Donorbox account.

While Brown admits he doesn’t have “full visibility” on what prosecutors are currently doing to Jan. 6 defendants, he does know “they are going after their GiveSendGos and setting their fines for the exact amount that’s in their account.”

“They’ve been doing this to me throughout the entire course of my trial,” Brown told The Epoch Times from Citrus County jail, where he is currently incarcerated. “It’s almost like they tested legal theory to see if they could get away with it and if it worked they were going to try it on the others. I was their test case. Now it looks like they’re moving forward with it. I think it’s a dangerous precedent. But I don’t think it would survive Supreme Court scrutiny.”

‘Let’s Just Start With the Facts’

Carol Stewart, the attorney representing Aldridge as the trustee, describes the turn of events as a show of “amazing viciousness” by the government and Flynn.

“Let’s just start with the facts,” Stewart told The Epoch Times. “We’re in Florida. This account is an oral trust, which is allowed in Florida. It was set up by friends. His girlfriend, Tyleen Aldridge, is in charge of the oral trust. Jeremy is in jail. He has no title to the money. The money never touches his accounts. It goes to her. I worked with her to set up a trust account for it that goes to his benefit. That’s what the GiveSendGo says. It’s to his benefit.”

At a March 25 hearing, the government “grilled” Stewart “for four hours,” she said.

Tylene Aldridge and Jeremy Brown in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Tylene Aldridge)
Tylene Aldridge and Jeremy Brown in an undated photo. Courtesy of Tylene Aldridge

“I know they were trying to get Tyleen or someone else on fraud and I told them to stop,” Stewart recalled. “It’s discretionary. She can decide what happens to the money. She’s paying attorneys in D.C. because he has charges there also. This should have been done in a Florida civil court. I told the judge he did not have subject matter jurisdiction over this.”

Stewart said what the transcript (pdf) shows is “a corrupt magistrate—who was told he had no jurisdiction over the trust and knew he could not order trust disbursement, and who knew Jeremy had no title or control of the funds—who still illegitimately ordered Jeremy to pay over $12,000 public defender funds or be in criminal contempt of court.”

As Stewart explained, donations from the GiveSendGo account go into a Florida trust account in a Florida bank.

“If you want to seize that money, you would have to get an order in a Florida Civil Court. But the judge chose to ignore Florida law,” Stewart said.'

Precedence of State Law

Then there’s the Erie Doctrine.

“When they’re doing something outside of case law and it’s regarding something relevant to the state, they have to follow state law,” Stewart said about the Erie Doctrine, adding that Florida state law says trust disputes must be handled through a Florida Circuit Court.

Chris Hedges, an attorney assisting Brown in preparing his case against Flynn, agrees that Flynn had no authority to make a determination on Brown’s trust.

“Judge Flynn violated the Erie Doctrine,” he insisted. “He also violated the 10th Amendment. I believe he also violated Florida’s Trust and Estate jurisdiction.”

Hedges even drafted a letter (pdf) to the offices of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody in April, to inform them of Flynn’s violation of Florida’s laws.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody speaks at a press conference in Brandon, Fla., on Nov. 18, 2021. (Jann Falkenstern/The Epoch Times)
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody speaks at a press conference in Brandon, Fla., on Nov. 18, 2021. Jann Falkenstern/The Epoch Times
Moody’s office responded about a month later (pdf).

“Basically, they said, ‘There’s nothing we can do. Sorry. But here’s how you file a case against a federal judge.’” Hedges recalled. “I wasn’t looking to file a case against a federal judge. I was looking for the State of Florida to file an amicus brief because they would have standing with a 10th Amendment violation. The State of Florida is supposed to be a buffer that ensures the federal government doesn’t do what it’s not supposed to do, like invade trust and estate laws in a federal court.”

In the meantime, Brown says he is waiting for his appeal to play out in the 11th Circuit Court.

“If it goes the way they’re expecting,” he said, “they‘ll throw everything out. Then we’ll be able to sue under civil rights violations through a 1983 filing.”

The Laws

As explained by Shouse California Law Group, “A Section § 1983 lawsuit permits you to seek financial compensation for violations of your constitutional rights by state and local government officials, such as police officers or prison guards, while they were acting under color of law.”

While Section 1983 lawsuits can be filed in state or federal court for monetary damages or to seek “an injunction to stop the improper conduct,” petitioners will “have to overcome the qualified immunity defense” to be compensated for monetary damages. Qualified immunity is a legal tenet that shields government officials from lawsuits seeking monetary damages.

Technically, Section 1983 is a procedural tool based on a federal statute, which provides federal courts with jurisdiction over civil rights cases, the law group said.

While no one can be held liable under Section 1983, it opens the door to having a respondent face liability for violating other federal laws. This explains why the alleged violation of another law—such as the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Eighth Amendment, 14th Amendment, or the Social Security Act—is always included in 1983 cases.

Florida Trust Law is an estate planning tool that provides people with the ability to manage their property and assets while living to facilitate an easy transition after death. Florida has various types of trusts in which the beneficiary can be a family member, a friend, a charity, or a beloved pet.

Trusts can be created through the transfer of property to another person as a trustee during a person’s lifetime or to be transferred to another person upon their death.

‘Overreaching Tyranny’

Stewart said she is appalled by what she describes as the “malicious, vindictive, and evil” way the Department of Justice and its prosecutors are going after “every January 6 defendant.”

“Not only are they abusing the domestic terrorism charges, they are sending out inquiries to Google, Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and airlines. They have DHS put them on the highest domestic terrorist watchlist and then they send their information to TSA so when they fly they get strip-searched and have people following them around the airport. They want to ensure that these people lose their businesses. They get banks to shut down their accounts and get credit card companies to cancel their cards. Ultimately they want to force them into bankruptcy, unemployment, and homelessness,” she said.

“Now, if anyone has donations to help them keep their families in their homes while they are in prison, they’re going after that money, too,” Stewart added.

Hedges agrees.

“This is the overarching tyranny of the federal government,” he said. “But when it’s all said and done, Jeremy will have one hell of a civil rights case.”

Patricia Tolson
Patricia Tolson
Reporter
Patricia Tolson is an award-winning Epoch Times reporter who covers human interest stories, election policies, education, school boards, and parental rights. Ms. Tolson has 20 years of experience in media and has worked for outlets including Yahoo!, U.S. News, and The Tampa Free Press. Send her your story ideas: [email protected]
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