Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott Gave His Anti-Violence Program Leader 7 Million Taxpayer Dollars and Then Police Showed Up

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott built his political career on the idea that hiring ex-offenders to "interrupt violence" was smarter than policing.

Now one of his taxpayer-funded violence interrupters is facing attempted murder charges.

What the government knew about this man before cutting him the checks will make your blood boil.

The Safe Streets Baltimore Worker Brandon Scott Called an Isolated Incident

Antoine Burton, 51, ran a Safe Streets site in Baltimore's Park Heights neighborhood.

On June 7, 2026, police responded to gunshots on Park Heights Avenue and found a 40-year-old man with a bullet wound.

Burton was taken into custody nearby and charged with attempted first-degree murder and multiple handgun violations.

Mayor Scott called it "a disgrace" and said Burton "violated the trust that is at the very core of what makes violence intervention work."

Then he said the quiet part out loud.

"To be clear: this was an isolated incident and should not be used to undermine the proven work that Safe Streets does each and every day," Scott said.

He announced the program would continue.

Here is what the government knew about Burton before the checks were cut.

What Maryland Knew Before Handing Safe Streets Baltimore 7 Million in Taxpayer Funds

Maryland Governor Wes Moore awarded Burton's nonprofit We Our Us a $6.1 million state contract through the Department of Juvenile Services in August 2025.

Moore's team hand-selected Burton without opening the bid to other applicants – a non-competitive procurement that bypassed standard vetting.

What that vetting would have found: Burton personally owed $176,000 to the IRS and $32,000 to the state of Maryland in tax liens dating back to 2017.

We Our Us was two years behind on legally required IRS financial filings at the time of the award.

Maryland's own nonprofit database listed the organization as "not current."

Charity accounting expert Laurie Styron of CharityWatch reviewed the group's 2023 filing and told Fox Baltimore: "There's potentially some money missing here."

Ohio State nonprofit accounting professor Brian Mittendorf put it plainly: "Being up to date in compliance is necessary for receiving government funding for grants in general."

Burton's We Our Us had already collected more than $1.2 million in government grants in 2024 alone – before the $6.1 million state contract landed.

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Safe Streets Baltimore Has a Pattern Democrats Keep Calling Isolated

Scott used those exact words: isolated incident.

Baltimore's Safe Streets program has been running since 2007 and workers have been arrested, fired, and charged throughout its history.

Police previously raided a Safe Streets office and seized guns, ammunition, and drugs.

Burton is the latest entry in a pattern the Daily Caller documented across five liberal cities in November 2025 – violence intervention workers in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Flint, Chicago, and Rochester all caught violent or weapons charges in the same year, after their Democratic mayors promoted them as the compassionate alternative to real policing.

A Philadelphia activist described by city officials as a "returning citizen who has amended his behavior tremendously" was arrested for allegedly shooting his girlfriend in the head and dumping her body under an overpass.

In each city, the elected Democrat called it an isolated incident.

Maryland Republicans pushed legislation this year demanding financial transparency from taxpayer-funded nonprofits.

State Senator Szeliga called We Our Us "a poster child for why we need this legislation."

That legislation has not passed.

Moore's office defended the We Our Us contract, saying the nonprofit was deemed "responsive and responsible" during their review – a review that missed $208,000 in personal tax liens, two years of missing IRS filings, and a state nonprofit registration flagged as not current.

Brandon Scott isn't confused about what happened.

He funded a man his own government's records had already flagged, handed him a public safety platform, and is now telling you the problem is Burton – not the program that made Burton possible.

The pattern is the program.

Sources:

• Hudson Crozier, "Baltimore Mayor Defends 'Violence Intervention' Activists After Yet Another Gets Arrested," Daily Caller, June 8, 2026.
• "Maryland awards $6M to nonprofit whose president owes $200K in taxes," Fox Baltimore (Spotlight on Maryland), November 14, 2025.
• "Potentially some money missing: Baltimore nonprofit has 'sloppy' finances, experts say," Fox Baltimore (Spotlight on Maryland), February 20, 2026.
• Hudson Crozier, "Blue City 'Violence Prevention' Activists Keep Catching Violent Charges," Daily Caller, November 8, 2025.
• "Maryland awards $6 million to small nonprofit with no tax records since 2022," Fox Baltimore (Spotlight on Maryland), October 24, 2025.
• "'Mismanagement of our funds': Lawmakers call for oversight of taxpayer-funded nonprofits," Fox Baltimore (Spotlight on Maryland), March 4, 2026.