Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who is still under federal indictment on fraud charges, launched her re-election campaign in a dramatic, three-minute video that dropped on YouTube this afternoon.
In the video, Mosby voices over the track from Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks” as she touts her record since becoming the top prosecutor in Maryland’s largest city in 2015: a 90% conviction rate on cases her office tried, moving away from “war on drugs” and “school to prison pipeline” era crime fighting strategies, fostering better community relationships and holding police accountable.
The video culminates with Mosby exiting what appears to be her family’s home with her husband, Baltimore City Council President Nick J. Mosby, and their two daughters, then walking up the block with a phalanx of supporters following behind them. Mosby stands, arms folded, and deadpans the camera while her family and supporters smile around her.
The video never mentions the indictment.
Mosby has been credited for being a reform-minded prosecutor, a Black woman running the criminal justice system in a majority-Black city long plagued by violent crime and heavy-handed, corrupt policing.
She charged six Baltimore cops in the 2015 death of Freddie Gray, a man who succumbed to spinal cord injuries after being stopped by police while walking in his neighborhood. No convictions were won and shortly thereafter some of the officers sued Mosby.
It’s unclear how long the federal investigation of Mosby and her husband, Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby, was ongoing, but it became public knowledge last spring, according to Fox 45. Her husband isn’t charged with any crimes. In January, federal prosecutors filed a four-count indictment alleging Marilyn Mosby lied about having Covid-19 pandemic-related hardships in order to borrow from her retirement accounts to buy two Florida homes.
Last month, the Feds updated the charges with new information that they say spells out the alleged fraud scheme. A trial is slated for September. Mosby has denied the charges.
The Democratic primary for Baltimore state’s attorney is scheduled for June 28. Mosby faces at least two challengers: former Maryland and federal prosecutor Thiru Vignarajah, who won 22 percent of the vote in 2018 when he challenged Mosby, and Ivan Bates, who won 28 percent of the vote in 2018.