ORLANDO, Fla. – Eight people from Central Florida arrested for their alleged involvement in the Capitol Hill riots have raised nearly a half-million dollars for their legal defenses.
According to several fundraising platforms, the eight have raised $478,082.
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The largest collection, so far, has been raised by three people federal prosecutors link to the Oath Keepers.
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According to the fundraising site Give Send Go, Kenneth Harrelson of Titusville has raised $208,744.
Connie and Kelly Meggs of Dunnellon have raised $148,518.
Prosecutors claim the three of them plotted to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6 while storing a cache of weapons inside a Virginia motel.
James and Casey Cusick, a Melbourne pastor and his son arrested in June, have raised $109,600, while Dillon Homol of Cocoa Beach has raised $10,520 on the same fundraising platform.
Give Send Go markets itself as “The Leader in Christian Fundraising.”
Proud Boys leader Joseph Biggs of Ormond Beach has raised $17,232.
According to CNN, more than $2 million has been raised among the entire list of Capitol Hill riot defendants, but they report the influx of cash could backfire on some of them.
In at least two cases, prosecutors and a federal judge cited fundraising as a reason not to release defendants from jail, and for some, it may also mean losing access to their free public defenders.
