Man Charged In Break-In At Gov. Baker's Swampscott Home Bailed

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — The Massachusetts Bail Fund has come to the aid of a Danvers man accused of walking into Gov. Charlie Baker’s Swampscott home and leaving him a letter while his wife and daughter were in the house last month.

According to the Boston Herald, the Fund, which states on its website that it believes detaining anyone prior to a guilty verdict or plea at trial is inherently harmful and racist, posted Lane Forman's $5,000 bail. Forman is accused of pulling into the Swampscott home's driveway and opening an unlocked door leading into the kitchen.

State police watching the home questioned why Forman was in the house and arrested him the next day.

The Massachusetts Bail Fund has come under scrutiny in recent months after people the Fund helped post bail were then accused of serious crimes while awaiting trial.

The Salem-based Voices Against Injustice awarded the Bail Fund its 2020 Salem Award for Human Rights and Social Justice when it was providing $500 toward bail for anyone awaiting a trial who could not afford it regardless of the crime. With additional funding this summer, WBUR-FM reported the Bail Fund help post the $15,000 bail of a convicted sex offender who was then accused of a new rape while out on bail, and has also posted large bonds for those charged with attempted murder and robbery.

"While the Massachusetts Bail Fund has changed some of their practices since we selected them as our award recipient, their core values have not wavered," Voices Against Injustice said in a statement to Patch last month. "They are and have always been committed to fighting the gross inequality and injustice inherent in the cash bail system. For this reason, we stand by the Massachusetts Bail Fund and the work they do.”

Voices Against Injustice pledged a series of member discussions and workshops to debate the issue.

According to the Herald, a judge said Forman has an extensive record of offenses and ordered him to stay away from the governor's home. Forman called the incident a "misunderstanding" in court.

Baker has not addressed the break-in publicly other than to say at an October news conference: "Everybody's safe. That's the only thing that really matters and that's all I'm going to say about it."

More Patch Coverage: Salem-based Voices Against Injustice Defends Award To Bail Fund