The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), partially funded by billionaire George Soros, is now suing to have 500 inmates freed from jail in Orange County, California, in the midst of the Chinese coronavirus crisis.
The ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit against Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes, demanding officials free about 500 inmates from the county’s jails. The lawsuit claims the inmates are vulnerable to contracting the coronavirus.
Less than 120 inmates in Orange County’s jails have tested positive for the coronavirus out of 227 inmates who have been tested in total, as of April 29.
In a statement to the OC Register, Barnes said he is opposed to mass releasing inmates.
“I will continue to take measures needed to ensure the capacity is available to maintain safe operations and preserve our ability to house criminal offenders,” Barnes said. “In preserving the safety of our custody operations, I must also ensure the safety of the law-abiding public. I am not supportive of extensive preemptive releases that go beyond what is necessary to keep the jail and community safe.”
Already, Orange County’s inmate population has been cut by almost 45 percent in less than two months during the coronavirus crisis. Barnes said the jails are not overcrowded.
Last week, Breitbart News reported on the release of seven sex offenders from Orange County jails by Court Commissioner Joseph Dane despite law enforcement’s warnings that all are “high risk” and likely to reoffend.
After the release, one of the sex offenders was rearrested for exposing himself in public. The sex offender has been convicted of child molestation, indecent exposure, assault, battery, criminal threats, and inflicting injury on an elder adult.
The lawsuit was filed in United States District Court for the Central District of California’s Southern Division. The case number is 8:20-cv-00835.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.