Justice Before Judgment: The Carol and Aaron Ammons Legal Defense Fund

Carol and Aaron Ammons have been accused, but they have not been convicted. They are entitled to the same constitutional protections that belong to every person: the presumption of innocence, due process of law, competent legal representation, and a fair opportunity to confront the government's allegations in court.

We are establishing this defense fund to ensure that they have the resources necessary to mount a complete and vigorous defense—and to prevent a federal indictment from becoming a conviction in the media or in the court of public opinion.

This prosecution does not arise in a political vacuum.

For generations, the United States government largely ignored, delayed, or opposed the demand for reparations for Black Americans. We are now witnessing a disturbing change from passive resistance to active federal enforcement against reparations initiatives.

The Department of Justice warned Asheville and Buncombe County officials that it stood ready to investigate and enforce federal law if they adopted recommendations developed through their community reparations process. The Department later moved to intervene in litigation seeking to dismantle Evanston, Illinois’ historic reparations program.

Representative Carol Ammons has been one of Illinois’ strongest and most consistent champions of reparations, racial justice, and transformative public policy. Her indictment must therefore be examined within the broader environment in which reparations programs, the public officials who advance them, and the communities that support them are increasingly confronting federal hostility.

We will not prejudge the evidence, and we will not attempt to litigate the case through the media. But neither will we surrender our responsibility to question the use of governmental power, defend constitutional rights, or recognize the historical pattern of law-enforcement institutions being used to disrupt Black leadership and movements for justice.

An indictment is an allegation—not a verdict.

Supporting this defense fund does not require anyone to decide the case. It requires only a commitment to fairness, due process, equal justice, and the principle that no person should be financially overwhelmed or publicly condemned before the government has been required to prove its allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.

We call upon civil-rights leaders, reparations advocates, elected officials, clergy, labor organizations, attorneys, journalists, influencers, and all people of conscience to stand against trial by media and public presumption of guilt.

Let the evidence be tested in court.

Let due process prevail.

Let justice come before judgment.