Free Rakem Balogun (Legal Fees)

Rakem Khafre Balogun, Chief of Guerrilla Mainframe, whose legal name is Christopher Daniels, is an American activist best known for his involvement in a Facebook-related incident that occurred on December 12, 2017. This event became headline news in the United States. Balogun enlisted as a US Marine in 2001 and served in the Iraq War in 2003. However, Balogun cited his time serving in the US Marine Corps as alienating due to white officers' behavior and racial attitudes and left the Marine Corps. He later became a founding member of groups such as Guerrilla Mainframe in 2008 and of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club in 2014, both based in Dallas, Texas. He cites the killing of unarmed black men by police officers as the motivation for creating these groups.

On December 12, 2017, he was startled awake in his Dallas home by a large crash and police officers screaming commands; which he and his 15-year-old son were forced outside of their Dallas home dressed only in their underwear. Rakem Balogun was then handcuffed and learned FBI agents were investigating domestic terrorism and had been monitoring him for years for posts on Facebook criticizing police. Posts by Balogun stated he understood Micah Johnson, the perpetrator of the 2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, which was considered grounds for Balogun arrest. However, according to Balogun he was exercising his right to free speech when he talked about Johnson. He was not endorsing violence against individual police officers, but a general struggle against the Dallas Police Department. The event made worldwide news due to Balogun being the first person ever to be publicly designated a Black Identity Extremist & quota; by the FBI, sparking a national debate on the appropriateness of that term.

In May 2018, Balogun had all charges dropped against him. He is known for his creation of “Guerrilla Mainframe Martial Arts program. “He trained people to learn how to use firearms, self-defense, and to create a healthy lifestyle.” “He was a powerful political activist in the community organizing self-reliance, self-determination, and things of that nature. He believed in the right to bear arms, and felt that people should be trained with it, particularly black people. So having him around was a threat to their structure.” And going after threats to their structure—particularly black ones—is what the FBI has been doing for nearly a century, starting with Marcus Garvey in 1919 and continuing through today’s Black Lives Matter movement.

In the fall of 2019, Rakem was unfortunately in circumstances where he feared for his life and safety. He was held against his will in an Asian convenience store, the doors were locked, and the owner made threats to harm him. Upon being threatened, he defended himself against what he perceived as a life-endangering encounter. Ironically, his attacker/kidnapper was not arrested or detained. Instead, Rakem was arrested and sentenced to 8 years in prison. During his trial and penalty phase his political views of black liberation were used to convict and sentence him. In addition, prosecutors used matters irrelevant to his case to destroy his character. Nonetheless, Rakem does have a chance to fight this. He was granted an appeal, and at this very moment, we are raising funds for this cause to assist with legal fees.

Please help us in raising these funds to bring this innocent man home. Rakem Balogun has been on the frontline in serving his community for many years. He has advocated for many causes and has helped make those in the community's lives better. Not only does the community need him, but so does his family. He is a loving and active father to six children and expects a newborn in May. He does not deserve to be sentenced for 8 years. His children do not deserve to be without their father. Please help us get the justice he deserves. We ask that you donate to help Rakem be victorious against the state and FBI. Please share this with your friends, family and those who have a caring heart for community advocates such as Rakem. We give thanks and appreciate each one of you.