Rapper Afroman, known best for hits “Crazy Rap” and “Because I Got High” has filed the paperwork to run for president as an independent.
True to his brand and the subject matter of his music, Joseph “Afroman” Foreman’s platform focuses heavily on the further legalization of marijuana for recreational and medicinal use.
Mr. Foreman had first floated the idea of running for president at a December 2022 concert in Missouri, dubbing the race the “20-20-Fro” election.
He filed the paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday. News of the filing was first reported by the celebrity news site TMZ.
Mr. Foreman’s committee is called Joseph Afroman Foreman For President.
He has also been in the news for his ongoing legal disputes with the Adams County Sheriff’s Department in Ohio. Criminal justice and law enforcement overhauls are both planks of Mr. Foreman’s political platform.
“Afroman’s ongoing persecution by the overtly corrupt Adams County Sheriff’s Department perfectly highlights that this corruption of leadership has trickled down to law enforcement all across the country. … We are asking for your support as Afroman takes on this great and worthy cause as our Cannabis Commander in Chief,” Foreman campaign manager Jason Savage told TMZ.
A December 2022 Instagram post explained the rest of Mr. Foreman’s platform, which includes calls for a halt to all foreign aid and military intervention, the promotion of unity, peace and love, and legalized prostitution.
On Aug. 21, 2022, deputies raided Mr. Foreman’s residence as part of a kidnapping and drug trafficking investigation. No charges resulted but Mr. Foreman, who was not present during the search, was incensed.
Using footage from his home security cameras, Mr. Foreman recorded songs and produced music videos in which he asked for compensation for a broken gate and called out one deputy for eyeing some lemon pound cake sitting on a counter inside the residence.
Merchandise related to the songs and the raid was also sold. The damages to Mr. Foreman’s residence cost him around $20,000, he said.
In response, the Adams County Sheriff’s Department filed a lawsuit against Mr. Foreman for unauthorized use of their images for commercial purposes and claiming the video inflicted emotional damage on the officers.
The lawsuit said the sheriff’s deputies “suffered embarrassment, ridicule, emotional distress, humiliation, and loss of reputation, and are entitled to injunctive relief.”
The deputies seek up to $100,000 in damages.
Mr. Foreman, in turn, announced a countersuit for what he called an unlawful raid, alleging that the deputies stole money and property from his residence.
In a March Instagram post, Mr. Foreman detailed the allegations, announced the countersuit, called the search warrant false, and contended the judge that authorized the warrant is racist.
“My video footage is my property. … I used it to identify criminals, who broke into my house, stole my money and disconnected my home security system. I use my footage of my property to raise money to pay for the damages they done. … I am a law-abiding tax-paying citizen who was violated by criminals camouflaged by law enforcement!” Mr. Foreman wrote.
Deputies had said they seized $5,031 from Mr. Foreman’s house and only returned $4,631.
Mr. Foreman claimed it was theft, but an investigation by the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio found that the discrepancy was the result of an initial counting error by law enforcement and that Mr. Foreman had received the correct amount back, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Mr. Foreman is seeking $83 million in damages in the countersuit, although he conceded to news organization Reckon that it was unlikely he would be awarded such a sum.
Search warrants will be part of Mr. Foreman’s platform, as he hopes to change how law enforcement carries out search warrants by forcing departments to repay damages caused to people’s property if no evidence of wrongdoing is found.
A motion to dismiss the lawsuit on free speech grounds has also been filed, Mr. Foreman’s defense lawyer Bruce Rivers told the newspaper.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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