BLM activist Shaun King begs for donations to move out of lavish lakefront home, slams black community while describing himself as a 'civil rights leader'

Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King is begging his followers to donate money in order for him to move out of his $842,000 New Jersey home.

What's a brief history here?

King implored his followers to donate to his wife after saying that he was the subject of harassment after various news outlets published images of his private home.

King and his family have lived in the affluent North Brunswick home — which boasts five bedrooms, a gourmet kitchen, and a lakefront backyard — for less than a year.

King's wife, Rai-Tonicia King, purchased the home in November 2020.

The outspoken activist has taken flak for what some people say is his hypocrisy in speaking out for the poor and infirm while living in such lavish surroundings. He has also faced scrutiny over what some people have said is the lack of transparency in some of his public fundraising efforts.

In June, Tamir Rice's mother accused King of trying to profit from her son's 2014 death.

"Why do you think it's so important to tell folks we had a conversation?" Samaria Rice wrote in a post about a purported exchange between her and King. "Well, we talked and everything that was said was very toxic and uncomfortable for me to hear that you raised additional money and then say you did not want to bother me. Personally I don't understand how you sleep at night. [A]long with the United States, you robbed me for the death of my son."

A 2020 report stated that King had funneled a large amount of funds from a political action committee he co-founded to for-profit companies linked to Black Lives Matter leaders.

What are the details?

According to a Saturday report from The Grio, King — whose social media accounts are currently disabled or restricted — solicited donations through his wife to help the family defray the cost of moving.

In a now-viral Facebook post, King shared a picture of himself and family smiling at a dinner table.

King wrote, "That's my family a few months ago. In our home. At our dinner table. Happy. My wife bought this house. With her credit and income. An FHA loan. In a working class neighborhood. Because we couldn't afford to live in Brooklyn and wanted to own something now that we are both in our 40s. But now we're moving. It's devastating, honestly. The wife and kids have all cried over this. Our home has been plastered across Fox News, across the blogs, and all over Instagram. The actual address is everywhere."

He continued, "And it's clearly not safe anymore — which was always the point. It's not lavish. It's not excessive. Those were lies. But it's ruined at this point. Thousands of you have asked me and @MrsRaiKing how you can help us during this difficult time as we move our whole family out of our beloved home to a safe place."

At that point in the post, King shared the handles for his wife's CashApp, Venmo, PayPal, and Zelle accounts.

"We now need to find a new home, relocate, and have 24/7 security," King's post concluded. "The costs are outrageous. And to be frank — we just don't have it. We weren't prepared for this. We didn't want this. Not at all. I was minding my own business. She damn sure was."

What else?

Just two days earlier, King castigated those in the black community who shared his private information with what he said was "glee."

In part, the self-described "civil rights leader" wrote, "I suppose it might always be this way. I don't know.⁣ ⁣My wife bought this home, her first, after working her ass off for 20+ years. It took her nearly a year to even be able to purchase it. ⁣It was a quiet and peaceful refuge for her, for our 5 kids, for the dogs, and for our mothers. And it wasn't excessive. Again, she got a literal FHA loan to purchase it. I'm not even on the loan.⁣"

Noting that he believes the family will "never be safe here again," King went on to bash members of the black community.

"[S]hame on every black man and woman who shared it with glee," he wrote. "Shame on you for what you've done to [the family]. That you've fallen for so many lies about me, and decided to turn the lives of my wife and kids upside down in the process has taken a chunk out of my soul.⁣"

"I'll be honest with you," he admitted. "I'm going to be bitter over this for a very long time. ⁣I took July off of social media to just be with my family and then this. ⁣I don't deserve this.⁣ They damn sure don't deserve this.⁣ But here we are. ⁣I'm going to need a few weeks to get us set up somewhere else, but this will clearly never work for us.⁣"

He concluded, "@MrsRaiKing — you are the best. Sometimes I wish you never had the burden of even being connected to me and the work I do. I hate that wives and partners of so many civil rights leaders have to endure all of this. It's just not OK. ⁣I love you and the kids so much. ⁣I'll do all I can to make this right. ⁣Please pray for us. By name." ⁣

Anything else to know?

In a since-deleted Instagram post, prolific civil rights attorney Lee Merritt reportedly asked for donations from his hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers.

He wrote, "My good friends @shaunking and @mrsraiking are being forced to move from their home after national media publications printed their home address claiming they lived in a house too lavish for their incomes. Shaun is one of the nation's leading movement journalist and Rai is an education professional who purchased this modest home after years of saving and planning. What is happening to the King family is fundamentally unfair and heartbreaking but for the sake of the safety of their children they have to move. Security advisors have caution them to do so quickly."

The post concluded, "This is an expensive proposition and will force them to sell their home at a loss. I'm asking you to send them your support today. These two are literally married to the movement and will stop what they are doing at any given moment to serve the needs of others. They are in need of our help today. Let's show up for them."