Michigan Liberation is an advocacy and lobbying organization that promotes lenient, left-wing criminal justice policies in Michigan and supports Democratic Party candidates who align with its policy goals. ^{1 2}

Overview

“Michigan Liberation” is the “doing business as” of Action for Liberation, a lobbying and advocacy group that was founded in 2018 in Detroit. ³ Its executive director is Raiada “Rai” Lanier, who took that role in 2022. ⁴

In 2017, Lanier was arrested in the Detroit suburb of St. Clair Shores. In the process of writing Lanier a ticket for parking in a handicapped spot, a police officer determined that she had an outstanding warrant for unpaid tickets. ⁵ The police also reportedly discovered marijuana in the car, for which Lanier was not ticketed as she held a permit for medical marijuana use. ⁶  Lanier subsequently held a press conference organized by left-wing advocacy group Michigan United to claim that her ticketing and arrest were the result of racial profiling by the police. ⁷

Advocacy

Michigan Liberation promotes left-of-center criminal justice policies such as the elimination of cash bail, replacing many police officers with mental health professionals, decriminalizing drug use, and implementing “clean slate” laws that expunge criminal records over time. ^{8 9}

In addition to its focus on criminal justice and policing, Michigan Liberation also promotes left-of-center policies in areas such as abortion, single-payer government-run healthcare, public education, and environmental regulation. ^{10 11}

Michigan Liberation’s “Care Not Criminalization” campaign hands out fentanyl test strips and Narcan anti-overdose medications to drug users in Detroit and some of its suburbs. ¹²

Affiliated Organizations

Michigan Liberation operates two affiliated nonprofit organizations. ¹³

Michigan Liberation Education Fund

In 2023, Michigan Liberation created the affiliated 501(c)(3) Michigan Liberation Education Fund, which as of April 2024 had not filed any annual tax reports with the IRS. ¹⁴

Michigan Liberation Action Fund

Michigan Liberation has operated the Michigan Liberation Action Fund SuperPAC since 2018. ¹⁵ The SuperPAC supports Democratic candidates for state legislature, county prosecutor, county commissioner, city clerk, city council, mayor, school boards, and other local public offices in Michigan, as well as Democratic Party-endorsed candidates in nominally nonpartisan elections for the state Supreme Court and lower-level district and circuit courts. ¹⁶

It has also been active on behalf of Democratic candidates in national elections, spending $126,837 in outside expenditures supporting Michigan-based Democratic candidates for U.S. Congress in the 2022 Democratic Party primaries and general election. ¹⁷

In addition to receiving $280,666.22 from Action for Liberation (the legal name for Michigan Liberation), the SuperPAC has also received donations from AFSCME Michigan ($200,000), the Accountable Justice Action Fund ($210,000), and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee ($250,000). ¹⁸ It has also received in-kind support in the form of telemarketing services from the America Votes Action Fund. ¹⁹

The Michigan Liberation Action Fund SuperPAC has also received significant donations from high-profile major Democratic Party donors, including $10,000 from Kate Capshaw, an actress and the wife of film director Steven Spielberg; $10,000 from philanthropist and activist Susan Pritzker; $38,200 from philanthropist and real estate executive Stacy Schusterman; and $50,000 from the late businessman, philanthropist, and marijuana legalization advocate Henry van Ameringen. ²⁰

Partnerships, Coalitions and Allies

Michigan Liberation works closely with left-of-center and Democratic Party-aligned PACs and advocacy organizations, and is integrated into national Democratic Party-aligned strategy and coordination mechanisms. It is supported and endorsed by the Democratic Party’s Way to Win organizational strategy hub, and the left-wing Way to Lead PAC lists Michigan Liberation as one of its 23 allied organizational statewide partners. ^{21 22} Michigan Liberation processes its online donations through the ActBlue Civics fundraising platform.  ²³

At the local level, Michigan Liberation partners with a number of Detroit-area left-of-center organizations including We the People Michigan, Detroit Will Breathe, Detroit Action, and the Detroit Justice Center. ^{24 25}

In 2021, Michigan Liberation was recognized by the Detroit and Michigan Chapter of the radical-left National Lawyers Guild with an “Unsung Hero Award” at the chapter’s annual anniversary dinner. ²⁶

Funding

Michigan Liberation and its associated Michigan Liberation Education Fund 501(c)(3) have received grants from funders including Borealis Philanthropy, ²⁷ , the Michigan Civic Action Fund, ²⁸ the North Fund, ²⁹ Open Philanthropy, ³⁰ and the Public Welfare Foundation. ³¹

In 2023, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) gave Michigan Liberation a $50,000 grant for “support for political activities.” ³²

1. “2024 Campaigns.” Michigan Liberation. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://miliberation.org/2022-campaigns/.
2. “Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform – Courts, Prosecutors, Policing, Prisons, Juvenile Systems, Re-Entry and Diversion Programs, and Parole.” Michigan Liberation. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://miliberation.org/
3. “Action for Liberation, IRS Form 990 for 2023.” Nonprofit Explorer, November 15, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/831522206/202303199349318010/full.
4.  “New Executive Director Announcement.” Michigan Liberation on Facebook, February 4, 2022. https://www.facebook.com/MichiganLiberation/posts/new-executive-director-announcementwe-are-so-excited-to-announce-that-rai-lanier/5275277795839933/?locale=hi_IN.
5. Burns, Gus. “Woman Says Racial Profiling Contributed to Arrest for Parking in Handicap Space.” MLive, June 30, 2017. https://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/2017/06/woman_says_racial_profiling_co.html.
6. “Arrest Outside St. Clair Shores’ B-Dubs Raises Questions of Racial Profiling.” CBS Detroit, June 30, 2017. https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/arrest-outside-st-clair-shores-b-dubs-raises-questions-of-racial-profiling/.
7. “Arrest Outside St. Clair Shores’ B-Dubs Raises Questions of Racial Profiling.” CBS Detroit, June 30, 2017. https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/arrest-outside-st-clair-shores-b-dubs-raises-questions-of-racial-profiling/.
8. ^[1] “Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform – Courts, Prosecutors, Policing, Prisons, Juvenile Systems, Re-Entry and Diversion Programs, and Parole.” Michigan Liberation. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://miliberation.org/.
9. “2024 Campaigns.” Michigan Liberation. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://miliberation.org/2022-campaigns/.
10. ^[1] Catolico, Eleanore. “In the Aftershock of Roe’s Dismantling, Detroit Advocates Say Attack on Health and Bodily Autonomy Is an Environmental Justice Issue.” Planet Detroit, January 20, 2024. https://planetdetroit.org/2022/06/in-the-aftershock-of-roes-dismantling-detroit-advocates-say-attack-on-health-and-bodily-autonomy-is-an-environmental-justice-issue/.
11. “Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform – Courts, Prosecutors, Policing, Prisons, Juvenile Systems, Re-Entry and Diversion Programs, and Parole.” Michigan Liberation. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://miliberation.org/.
12. Gutierrez, Andres. “Detroit’s East Side Sees High Number of OD Deaths, Volunteers Hand out Narcan Kits.” CBS News, May 10, 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/detroit-east-side-sees-high-number-of-od-deaths-volunteers-hand-out-narcan-kits/.
13. “Action for Liberation, IRS Form 990 for 2023.” Nonprofit Explorer, November 15, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/831522206/202303199349318010/full.
14. “Michigan Liberation Education Fund.” Nonprofit Explorer, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/881871491.
15. “MICHIGAN LIBERATION ACTION FUND (SUPERPAC) | Michigan Campaign Finance Committee Search.” Michigan Secretary of State Office of Elections. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://cfrsearch.nictusa.com/committees/519145.
16. Assembled from search results at “Michigan Campaign Finance Expenditure Analysis.” Michigan Secretary of State Office of Elections. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://miboecfr.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/cfr/exp_anls.cgi.
17. “Michigan Liberation Action Fund Independent Expenditures.” OpenSecrets. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/C00690776/independent-expenditures/2022.
18. Assembled from search results at “Michigan Campaign Finance Contribution Analysis.” Michigan Secretary of State Office of Elections. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://miboecfr.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/cfr/contrib_anls.cgi.
19. Assembled from search results at “Michigan Campaign Finance Contribution Analysis.” Michigan Secretary of State Office of Elections. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://miboecfr.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/cfr/contrib_anls.cgi.
20. Assembled from search results at “Michigan Campaign Finance Contribution Analysis.” Michigan Secretary of State Office of Elections. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://miboecfr.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/cfr/contrib_anls.cgi.
21. “Contribute to Way to Lead.” Way to Lead. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://waytolead.us/test/.
22. “Michigan – the Plan to Win.” Way to Win, 2020. https://plantowin.info/michigan/.
23. “I Just Gave to Michigan Liberation.” ActBlue. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/miliberation.
24. Dozier, Kirthmon F. “March against police brutality on 8 Mile Road in Detroit.” Detroit Free Press, June 12, 2020. https://www.freep.com/picture-gallery/news/local/michigan/detroit/2020/06/12/march-against-police-brutality-8-mile-road-detroit/5347184002/.
25. Brooker, Jena, and Micah Walker. “Detroit ‘Cop City’ Rally Held in Solidarity with Atlanta Environmental Defenders.” BridgeDetroit, February 25, 2023. https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-cop-city-rally-held-in-solidarity-with-atlanta-environmental-defenders/.
26. WATCH the National Lawyers Guild Virtual 84th Anniversary Dinner,  February 21, 2021.” National Lawyers Guild, Detroit and Michigan Chapter, February 2021. https://www.michigannlg.org/anniversary-dinners/84th.
27. “Spark Justice Fund Awards Nearly $2 Million to Organizations to Transform Pretrial Justice  across the Country.” Borealis Philanthropy, April 2, 2020. https://borealisphilanthropy.org/2020/04/02/spark-justice-fund-awards-nearly-2-million-to-organizations-to-transform-pretrial-justice-across-the-country/.
28. “Michigan Civic Action Fund, Form 990, Schedule I – Nonprofit Explorer.” Nonprofit Explorer, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/823995979/202302439349300300/IRS990ScheduleI.
29. ^[1] “North Fund, Form 990, Schedule I – Nonprofit Explorer.” Nonprofit Explorer, May 9, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/834011547/202343149349301734/IRS990ScheduleI.
30.  “Michigan Liberation – Prosecutor Accountability (2019).” Open Philanthropy, January 16, 2022. https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/michigan-liberation-prosecutor-accountability-2019/.
31. McIntosh, Jennifer. “Public Welfare Foundation Launches ‘Give Local’ Campaign.” EIN News, November 1, 2023. https://uspolitics.einnews.com/pr_news/665626760/public-welfare-foundation-launches-give-local-campaign.
32. “FORM LM-2 LABOR ORGANIZATION ANNUAL REPORT.” United States Department of Labor, March 29, 2024. https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=889436&rptForm=LM2Form.