澳彩开奖

He called it his 鈥渃ry for help.鈥�

Now, there鈥檚 crying all around as the money-raising attempt has descended into chaos, conflict and mistrust. In this case, Schaeffer Cox wanted the fundraising to stop, going as far as writing he was 鈥渨ary鈥� of the people who claimed to support him. As a result of his note, he received a scathing email from someone he once called a friend.

Money is at the heart of the battle. Members of the 鈥淔ree Schaeffer Cox鈥� movement hired Eberle Associates, a prominent conservative firm based in McLean, Virginia, to raise money for Cox鈥檚 appeal.

But Cox, who claims he is a political prisoner, alleged in a lawsuit that he never received money raised on his behalf.

The conflict reached its nadir when Cox wrote to an Eberle copywriter and said he didn鈥檛 want the company raising money for him anymore. That exchange prompted the sharp response.

On Feb. 11, 2016, Cox sent an email to Ryan Mobley, a copywriter with Eberle known for handling conservative fundraising pitches. He told Mobley to stop the pledge campaign because he was wary of the Free Schaeffer Cox board members.

鈥淚鈥檓 just saying I鈥檓 not going to ask people to donate to ME when in reality I have no idea at all where the money is actually going,鈥� Cox wrote. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 reasonable.鈥�

But it apparently didn鈥檛 seem reasonable to Maria Rensel. Rensel was a friend of Cox鈥檚 from their days in Republican politics in Alaska. She replied in an email signed by the other board members:

鈥淧erfect timing Schaeffer 鈥� right when the work is ready to pay off, you self-destruct.鈥�

How did we get here?

Cox ran the Alaska Peacemakers Militia until he was sentenced in 2012 to 26 years in prison for engaging in a conspiracy to kill a state judge and police officer. That plot led to the latest dust-up.

Cox, a 35-year-old former Republican candidate for the Alaska Legislature, needed the money to appeal his conviction.

Eberle counts prominent conservative clients such as the Koch Brothers-funded FreedomWorks among its customers. The company has also worked with the American Border Patrol, which the 澳彩开奖 designates as an antigovernment group.

The relationship between Cox, his supporters and Eberle quickly went south. Cox filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in November 2018. The suit alleges Eberle embezzled more than $100,000 raised to help Cox with his appeal. In court filings, Eberle and the other defendants have denied the accusations.

The lawsuit alleges Eberle promised to take a series of actions, including a direct mail campaign, follow-up calls and letters and a projected $1.05 million first-year fundraising goal.

Cox seemed onboard at first. He allowed the use of his photo in fundraising requests. A draft fundraising letter, addressed to 鈥淒ear Patriotic American,鈥� showed the urgency of his plea.

鈥淭his is my cry for help,鈥� Cox wrote in a Sept. 1, 2014, draft fundraising letter. 鈥淣ot just for me and my family, but for Americans like you who may be the government鈥檚 next target.鈥�

The first fundraising mailer went out in early 2015 and raised $38,000 from 1,500 people, according to court documents.

Eberle wrote a check to 鈥淔ree Schaeffer Cox鈥� on Feb. 23, 2015, although court filings do not indicate how much it gave Cox鈥檚 backers, and things seemed to be running smoothly. Mailings went out, and Cox penned more fundraising letters from his prison cell in Marion, Illinois.

Cox wrote in another fundraising draft that the Marion prison had the nickname 鈥淟ittle Guantanamo鈥� and that the Obama administration had an 鈥渆nemies list.鈥�

鈥淎nd since I was the main organizer of the 2nd Amendment lobby in Alaska and represented thousands of conservative voters, I had to go and they didn鈥檛 care how,鈥� Cox wrote.

The draft, dated Oct. 5, 2015, was included as an exhibit in the lawsuit.

The fundraising letter echoed a defense Cox used at trial 鈥� that he was a loudmouth who stood up for gun rights but was no danger to society.

But all was not well from Cox鈥檚 point of view.

Various letters that were part of the lawsuit show Cox鈥檚 growing unease and mistrust of Eberle. Cox expressed concerns about where the money was going and whether the projections could be reached.

Emails in the court file show that Rensel and Cox stopped speaking, prompting the US Observer, an Oregon-based outfit that publishes stories about people it believes to be wrongly convicted, to stop researching the case. For its part, Eberle froze the 鈥淔ree Schaeffer Cox鈥� account.

鈥淲hat a mess!鈥� Eberle President Tammy Cali wrote Cox on Dec. 21, 2016.

Cox said in court records that he didn鈥檛 get any of the funds raised by Eberle. Eberle did not return a call or email to the Intelligence Report seeking comment. Court records indicate the money the group raised was returned to donors.

Since parting with Alaskans for Liberty, a right-wing political group made up of some of Cox鈥檚 former supporters, Cox has a new set of fundraisers known as 鈥淪chaeffer鈥檚 Angels.鈥�