We talk to Wayne Martin Freeman from jail and the mother of his children.

VICTORVILLE – Supporters of jailed community activist, basketball coach, and PhD candidate Wayne 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.

Trial has begun 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.