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Community Rallies in Support of Activist Jailed on Spurious Charges
SUPPORTERS, ATTORNEY CALL ON COURT TO “FREE WAYNE!”
VICTORVILLE – Supporters of jailed community activist, basketball coach, and PhD candidate Wayne Martin Freeman will hold a press conference on the first day of the trial in which he is charged with stalking and threatening a public official, both felonies, and “electronic harassment,” a misdemeanor. The charges stem from an incident on December 26, 2024, in which Mr. Freeman, a dedicated advocate for victims and survivors of police violence, knocked on the door of San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Detective Starsun Fincel. Nobody answered the door.
In the video of the incident posted to Instagram, Freeman is heard asking aloud, “We still know nothing about what’s going on with Fincel,” and “What’s going on? You bodyslammed a sixteen-year-old girl and put her in the hospital!” Freeman is then seen walking back to his car. The question was in reference to a September 2023 incident in which sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene of a disturbance among teenagers at Victorville High School in which, rather than protecting the young people, Fincel was filmed attacking teenager Faith Jeffers.
On December 27, 2024, Freeman was served with a warrant for his arrest at his Moreno Valley home. Video shows several deputy sheriffs aiming their firearms at Mr. Freeman prior to making the arrest.
Since then, Freeman has been held in jail. Initially, bail was set at $150,000 and subsequently increased to $180,000, only to be denied entirely at a bail hearing on January 13, 2025. Freeman had never received any stayaway order and has no violent criminal history.
Trial begins today and Freeman’s supporters are rallying in support of his freedom and his right to continue to do activism, which is under attack with these charges.
WHO: Wayne Freeman Defense Committee, police accountability activists, basketball players.
WHAT: Press conference to call attention to the injustice being perpetrated against Wayne Freeman by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney.
WHEN: 7:30 AM
March 24, 2025
WHERE: Victorville Superior Court
14455 Civic Dr
Victorville, CA 92392
VISUALS: Protesters with signs and banners, the courthouse.
Media contacts: Valeria Carlos (Wayne Freeman’s wife): 909-573-9480
Benjamin Wood (Wayne Freeman Defense Committee): 909-996-1624
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The Wayne Freeman Defense Committee was formed in December 2024 to support Wayne Freeman and his family, create awareness of the case, and to raise money for legal defense.
