<div>Hello Friends, Family, Potential Donors I may not know,
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>My name is Sean Verdu. I am a Theatre Professor and Artist from Colorado Springs. I am also a partner, a father, a son, a brother, a friend, and a human being who needs assistance. I am reaching out for support from those that may be able to lend me a helping hand in a major time of need. This is a tough story to share, and honestly, I was too ashamed originally to ask for help. But with the guidance, love, and support of my friends and family, I gained the courage to share and reach out because, as humans, we all make mistakes and deserve a chance to fight. Here is the story...
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>On August 8, 2025, I was pulled over by a State Patrol Officer. After the initial discussion and accusation, he further accused me of driving drunk. He used intimidation and coercion tactics to try to get me to perform sobriety field tests. I performed one, the eye test. As he tried to have me perform more related to body function and balance, I denied performing those. I declined to perform them because earlier that day I was diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease in my neck and lumbar spine, as well as bulging discs in both of those locations. For multiple months, I was seizing up and unable to move, so I felt strongly those tests would be inaccurate about my ability to perform the tests fairly. With each denial of a test, the officer got more and more aggravated and began to threaten license suspension immediately if I failed to cooperate. He then offered me a breath test or blood test. I decided on the blood test. He immediately placed me under arrest and handcuffed me, chest bumping my back multiple times. I let him know that my extremities (both hands and both feet) go numb easily with this newfound disease I am living with. Sure enough, as I was placed in the officer's truck, my extremities went numb, and he ignored me and my kind pleas for assistance. After giving blood, the officer took me to a detox facility where I spent 7 hours waiting to be released to get back to my family and my life. I was ticketed and given a summons date of October 6.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Since the events of that evening, I have met with several lawyers and stated my case. Each one of them has heard me out and said I have a good shot at trying to beat this case due to intimidation, coercion, and potentially excessive force (as I was not fighting in any way with the officer). One additional thing is that this would be my second offense (I had a DWAI in 2009). If you know anything about Colorado law, a second offense comes with mandatory jail time (ten days). Here is where you all come in...
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>The justice system in America is incredibly tough to beat; you almost certainly need a lawyer to defend you and help navigate the system so you can be treated fairly.</strong> Lawyers that I have talked with average somewhere between $5,500 - $10,000. As an adjunct professor and working theatre artist, I just don't make enough to cover that. Thankfully, most lawyers take payment plans. The plans require a down payment of $1,500. I am asking for assistance to help me get just a portion of the down payment so I can begin a payment plan and get the much-needed assistance that I require to fight for my rights as a human being. (UPDATE: The amazing generosity of donors helped me crush this original goal. So I have given a little boost to the goal to help cover the lawyer fees. I really appreciate all your kindness!)
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Thank you for taking the time to read this and consider lending me a hand. I know in these times that money can be tight for all, so anything helps (even just kind words or thoughts sent my way).
</div>

Anonymous

Gerrie Walker-Champe

Desiree Myers

Kit Silva

Max Shulman

Autumn Schubauer

Meg M. Hodorovitch

Jill Peterson

Shaynelle Luna

Susan lyles

Richard Sebastian-Coleman

Jeffrey Fenton

Cassidy Forrest

Julie Talty

Linda Suttle

Sydney Mobley

Stand with Sean Verdu: Legal Defense Fund

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Just $190$ to go! Make an impact.

Stand with Sean Verdu: Legal Defense Fund

Just $190 to go!
Make an impact.