FROM SARAH MCABEEWhat happened to the 1776 Fund?
An American flag hanging behind jail bars in a dark cell
OPERATION RESTORE™  /  INITIATIVE

Stand for Justice™

We stand with people the system has wronged, and with people it has overcharged and over-punished. From the knock on the door to the day they come home, and every day after.

Whether it's the Justice Department, a state attorney general, or a county district attorney, the prosecution has the lawyers, the money, and all the time in the world. Most people they go after have none of that. Most help shows up for one piece of a case, then it's gone. We stay for all of it, and we're pushing to fix the system so the next family never has to walk this road.

ASK FOR HELP SEE THE WHOLE JOURNEY
WHO WE STAND WITH

Two kinds of people the system leaves behind. We stand with both.

I.

Those who have been wronged by the system

People who were charged for who they are instead of what they did. People targeted over their beliefs or their politics, convicted on a record that was never fair, or ground down by a prosecutor who cared more about the headline than the truth.

II.

Those who have been overcharged and over-punished

People hit with a stack of charges built to force a plea. People handed sentences far out of proportion to what they did. Their lives, their families, and their futures paid a price the law never meant for them to pay.

It happens in federal court, in state court, and in county courthouses. It happens to veterans, gun owners, doctors, business owners, parents, people of faith, and the January 6 defendants where this work began. If that's you or someone you love, reach out.

ASK FOR HELP
FROM OUR CEO
“Our justice system fails people at every stage, from arrest and indictment through trial, sentencing, and incarceration, and long after they are released. We walked that road alongside the January 6 defendants, and we learned what it takes to see someone through it. Stand In The Gap is now committed to walking it with every person this system has wronged, overcharged, or over-punished.”
SARAH MCABEECO-FOUNDER & CEO, STAND IN THE GAP FOUNDATION
THE WHOLE JOURNEY

A case doesn't happen in one day. Neither does our help.

Tap any point on the road. This is what people go through, and where we show up.

A row of empty jail cells
THE KNOCK ON THE DOOR

Arrest

Police or agents at the house before sunrise. Phones and computers taken. A spouse who has no idea who to call, and a mortgage that is still due on the first.

WHERE WE STAND
  • We talk with the family that week and help them understand what is coming.
  • We connect them with independent defense attorneys who have handled cases like this one.
  • Emergency Funding for rent, utilities, and the bills that keep coming after the paycheck stops.
  • Help handling reporters, so the family is not ambushed on their own front porch.
Stop 1 of 8
A thick stack of paperwork
THE CHARGES COME DOWN

Indictment

A charging document written to scare. Counts stacked on counts. A choice between an overloaded public defender and a retainer bigger than the house payment.

WHERE WE STAND
  • We help the family find and vet an attorney, and help pay legal fees when funds allow.
  • We start a record file on day one, so nothing gets lost if lawyers change.
  • We make sure the family has someone to call who is not on the clock.
Stop 2 of 8
A man standing on a Washington, D.C. sidewalk at night with the U.S. Capitol in the distance
MONTHS IN A COURTHOUSE FAR FROM HOME

Trial

Hearing after hearing, sometimes hundreds of miles away. A case tried in the press long before it ever reaches a jury.

WHERE WE STAND
  • Travel and lodging help so the family can be in the courtroom.
  • Funding for investigators or experts when the defense attorney asks for them.
  • Someone from our team checking in every week of it, not just on verdict day.
Stop 3 of 8
A handwritten letter on paper
WHO THEY REALLY ARE

Sentencing

A presentence report that reads like the prosecution wrote it. Years on the line, decided in an afternoon.

WHERE WE STAND
  • We gather letters of support from the people who actually know them.
  • We help put together a real plan for housing and work, so the court sees a life waiting outside.
  • We take care of the family through the waiting.
Stop 4 of 8
Old law books on a library shelf
THE FIGHT AFTER THE VERDICT

Appeal

The trial lawyer is gone, the money is spent, and the clock to appeal is already running.

WHERE WE STAND
  • We help find appellate attorneys and help fund the appeal.
  • We keep the family informed, so they are not finding out from the news.
  • We tell the story publicly when a case is being ignored.
Stop 5 of 8
A prison yard with a guard tower and razor wire
INSIDE THE WALLS

Prison

A facility six hours from home. Fifteen-minute calls that cost real money. Kids who only see their parent through glass, if they get to see them at all.

WHERE WE STAND
  • Letters and regular contact so nobody inside is forgotten.
  • Help with commissary, phone, and visiting costs.
  • Support for the family at home, including Christmas for the kids.
  • Speaking up publicly when medical care or conditions are wrong.
Stop 6 of 8
Two people embracing
WALKING OUT THE GATE

Coming Home

A bus ticket and a plastic bag. No ID, no job, no lease, and a background check waiting at every door.

WHERE WE STAND
  • Housing, starting with Home Again, our tiny-home reentry community planned for Dallas.
  • Job leads, IDs, a phone, and a ride in the first weeks.
  • Counseling for them and for the family, because the family did that time too.
  • Help covering the first month of bills while they get back on their feet.
Stop 7 of 8
A metal fence glowing at sunset
THE CASE IS CLOSED. THE RECORD IS NOT.

After

The sentence is served or the pardon is signed. The record still follows them into every job interview, every lease, every background check.

WHERE WE STAND
  • Project Seal: independent panel attorneys, funded by us, petition to seal eligible records.
  • Help preparing pardon and clemency applications.
  • Firearm rights restoration through Operation Proof Mark, now taking applications for the January session.
  • Project Refund and Project Repair, coming soon.
Stop 8 of 8
AFTER THE CASE

The case is closed. The record isn't.

A pardon, a dismissal, or a finished sentence ends the case. It doesn't clear the record, give back the money, or restore a right. These programs are how we keep going after everyone else has moved on.

ACCEPTING CASES

Project Seal

We fund independent panel attorneys who petition to seal records in cases that never reached a final judgment.

CHECK ELIGIBILITY →
OPEN NOW

Pardons & Clemency

We help people put together their pardon or clemency application and gather the letters of support behind it.

ASK FOR HELP →
JANUARY SESSION OPEN

Operation Proof Mark

Our federal firearm rights restoration program, for people who lost their gun rights to a federal conviction. Now taking applications for the January session.

APPLY AT OPERATIONPROOFMARK.ORG →
COMING SOON

Project Refund

Funding independent attorneys to seek the return of fines, assessments, and restitution after a pardon or a vacated conviction.

GET NOTIFIED →
COMING SOON

Project Repair

Helping people harmed by the government pursue federal administrative claims, starting with families promised compensation that never came.

GET NOTIFIED →
BY THE NUMBERS

This isn't a problem for someone else's family.

Half the country has watched someone they love get pulled into this system. Most never had a real shot at a trial, and most come home to nothing.

1 in 2

American adults has had an immediate family member locked up in a jail or prison.

FWD.us & Cornell University, Every Second
1 in 3

American adults has a criminal record that follows them into every background check.

Center for American Progress; NELP
~2 million

people are locked up in America right now. No other democracy on earth locks up more of its people.

Prison Policy Initiative; World Prison Brief
98%

of federal criminal cases end in a plea bargain. Almost nobody gets a trial.

American Bar Association, 2023
5 million+

children have had a parent go to jail or prison.

Child Trends
7 in 10

people released from state prison are arrested again within five years. That's one of the worst records in the developed world, and it's proof reentry is failing.

Bureau of Justice Statistics
THE PUSH FOR REFORM

Helping one person at a time isn't enough. The road itself has to change.

Every case we take shows us the same broken spots, over and over. We bring what we've seen to lawmakers, to the press, and to anyone who will listen, so the next family doesn't have to go through it.

JUSTICE REFORM

Fix it before the verdict

  • End charge stacking used to scare people into pleading guilty.
  • Make prosecutors turn over the evidence, all of it, and on time.
  • Hold prosecutors accountable when they cross the line, whether they work for the Justice Department or a county district attorney.
  • Keep people home before trial unless there is a real reason not to.
  • Let people be tried by a fair jury, not one picked in a city that already decided.
PRISON REFORM

Treat people like people inside

  • House people close enough to home that their kids can actually visit.
  • Commissary and phone prices capped at what things cost outside, with no kickbacks to the agency.
  • Real wages for prison work, never below the federal minimum.
  • Real medical care, on time, without a fight.
  • No solitary as punishment for being unpopular.
  • Reentry planning that starts the day someone goes in, not the day they get out.
  • Second chances: sealing records and restoring rights once the debt is paid.

Read Shane Jenkins's full plan, Invest in Our Future Neighbor →. Have a story the country needs to hear? Help carry this to your state capitol or to Washington.

READ THE POLICY PLANJOIN THE PUSH
STRAIGHT TALK

We are not a law firm. We're the people who make sure you're not alone.

WHAT WE DO
  • Connect you with independent attorneys who have handled cases like yours
  • Help pay legal fees, filing costs, and the bills that pile up around a case
  • Keep your records organized so nothing gets lost between lawyers
  • Take care of your family, during the case and after
  • Stay with you from the first call until you're back on your feet
WHAT WE DON'T DO
  • We don't give legal advice
  • We don't represent anyone or appear in court
  • We don't make decisions about your case. You and your attorney do.
  • We never bill the people we help
Portrait of Shane Jenkins, Stand In The Gap co-founder, looking off to the side against a dark background
YOUR FIRST CALL
“I know what it is to have the government decide who you are before anybody asks. Nobody should have to walk that alone.”
SHANE JENKINS  ·  CO-FOUNDER & STAND FOR JUSTICE™ COORDINATOR

Shane brings firsthand experience and deep empathy to Stand In The Gap as a former January 6th defendant, supporting others as they walk the same road he did. He leads Stand for Justice™ and is the first call for anyone coming to us with a case.

When you reach out, he's who you hear from. Tell him what's going on in your own words. You don't need to know where you are in the process. Figuring that out is our job.

ASK FOR HELPHELP SOMEONE YOU LOVE
FUND THE JOURNEY

The prosecution pays for its side. Somebody has to pay for theirs.

Your gift goes wherever the person is right now. A retainer. A plane ticket to a hearing. A commissary account. A first month's rent. A sealing petition years later.

GIVE TO STAND FOR JUSTICEGIVE MONTHLY

An initiative of Operation Restore™ · Stand In The Gap Foundation® · a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Stand In The Gap is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and does not represent anyone.

$380,000PUT INTO PROGRAMS IN 2025
$750FUNDS ONE SEALING PETITION
$0BILLED TO THE PEOPLE WE HELP