McConnell: Louisville activist’s release from jail after shooting is ‘jaw-dropping’

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell called out Black Lives Matter’s Louisville chapter from the Senate floor Thursday, criticizing the organization for posting a $100,000 bond for a local activist accused of shooting at a mayoral candidate.

McConnell, a Republican senator from Kentucky, said he understood the Monday shooting was still being investigated but lambasted the Louisville Community Bail Fund, run by Black Lives Matter’s Louisville chapter, for “(bailing) their comrade out of jail” just two days after the shooting at candidate Craig Greenberg’s campaign office.

“It is just jaw-dropping,” McConnell said. “The innocent people of Louisville deserve better.”

Quintez Brown was charged with attempted murder and wanton endangerment after police responded to a shooting at Butchertown Market in Louisville Monday, according to court records. Brown was found about half a mile away from the scene shortly after the shooting. He had a 9mm handgun and ammunition when police found him, according to court records.

Brown was released Wednesday evening after his bail was paid. He was fitted with an ankle monitor and permitted to go home. As part of his bond conditions, he can’t have contact with Greenberg or any of his employees or campaign staff, according to court records. He also can’t have any guns.

McConnell also criticized major companies in America that have donated to Black Lives Matter in recent years.

“One wonders if any of their corporate money helped spring this would-be assassin from jail,” McConnell said.

Black Lives Matter’s Louisville chapter said in a tweet Wednesday that the Louisville Community Bail Fund is “100% community funded.” The national Black Lives Matter organization has raised large amounts of money recently, but some chapters have been critical about the organization’s funding methods and issues around donor transparency, according to the Associated Press.

The Louisville chapter also tweeted Thursday saying that Brown “has mental health issues and was denied that support.” The group said it was going to get him help following his release.

McConnell compared Brown’s case to other criminal cases in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, saying that prosecutors should be harsher on crime.

Kentucky law dictates that every defendant is entitled to a bond unless they’re charged with a crime which can be punishable by death, Jefferson District Judge Julie Kaelin said in a statement posted to Twitter Thursday. Brown’s bond was increased from $75,000 to $100,000 during his first court appearance on Tuesday, according to court records.

Brown has been well-known in the Louisville community as a racial justice activist and writer. He was active in 2020 protests and used to write op-ed columns for the Louisville Courier Journal. He has suffered from mental health issues, his attorney said in court this week, according to WDRB.

Other politicians have sounded off on Brown’s release. Former state auditor and gubernatorial candidate Adam Edelen said there was “simply no defense for a would-be assassin to be released on bail, 60 hours after firing on his intended target.”

Brown is due back in court for a preliminary hearing Wednesday, according to court records.