Experts see 'red flags' at nonprofit raising big money for Capitol riot defendants
In right-wing media, Cynthia Hughes has become one of the most prominent public faces representing families of the people held in jail, awaiting trial for allegedly attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
"Cynthia, you're a true patriot," former Trump adviser Steve Bannon told Hughes on his "War Room" podcast, where he included her in a roundup of "People of the Year."
Hughes, who lives in New Jersey, has become a regular on Bannon's show, where she and Bannon describe the 1/6 defendants as "political prisoners." On New Year's Eve, Bannon even pledged to send Hughes 1,000 coins from his new cryptocurrency venture, the "Let's Go Brandon" or FJB coin.
Bannon's promised crypto contribution added to the considerable pool of donations amassed by Hughes' group, the Patriot Freedom Fund â close to $900,000 as of early December, the group claimed. There are many online fundraisers for Capitol riot defendants, which have collectively raised millions from the small, but notable minority of Americans sympathetic to the Capitol riot defendants. Most fundraisers go directly to individual defendants.
Patriot Freedom Fund, by contrast, is incorporated as a nonprofit corporation, and describes itself as a kind of central hub - soliciting donations from the public to then provide services to families, including cash grants, gifts, and legal aid. And they have asked for big donations. "We need somebody to drop us $500,000 today - today, Steve - because we need to have our own attorneys on these cases," Hughes said on Bannon's show in November 2021.
The group's pitch has attracted prominent supporters on the right, including Republican U.S. Senate candidate and "Hillbilly Elegy" author , as well as the conservative filmmaker , who announced a $100,000 donation last year. Bannon has also that a portion of "transaction fees" from the "Let's Go Brandon" coin will go to the Patriot Freedom Project. And a former Trump
