On July 4th, 2020, Vauhxx Booker was viciously attacked on public land at Lake Monroe near Bloomington, Indiana.  In the year since the criminal justice system has itself joined in the attack against Mr. Booker.   On July 30, 2021, Special Prosecutor Sonia Leerkamp took the outrageous step of charging the victim, Mr. Booker, with a felony.  He faces up to three and a half years in prison, and $15,000 in fines for being subjected to a racist assault.  

We adamantly condemn the prosecution of Vauhxx booker and demand that the charges against him be dropped immediately.  

We call on Special Prosecutor Leerkamp to resign after a year of persistent and repeated misconduct in this case. 

We ask US Attorney General Merrick Garland to hold the perpetrators of these heinous crimes against Mr. Booker accountable pursuant to the Shepard Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act, 18 U.S.C. section 249.

For months, Leerkamp has threatened to bring charges against Mr. Booker if he did not engage in pretrial efforts to dismiss charges against his attackers. Special Prosecutor Leerkamp pressured Mr. Booker to participate in restorative justice sessions with his attackers who expressed no remorse. Additionally, before the restorative justice sessions even began, she pressured Mr. Booker to sign a confidentiality agreement and participate in a public forgiveness tour with his attackers.