Friends of Nolan Wells Are Crowdfunding, Too

Friends of the late Mississippi teen Nolan Wells are now crowdfunding for lawyers of their own. A GiveSendGo campaign has pulled in nearly $95,000 to protect three of Wells' friends—named as Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo, and Morgan Seymour—against possible lawsuits and to pursue claims against people they say have wrongly accused them of involvement in his death, reports Rolling Stone. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of Wells has raised more than $800,000. His family has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

Wells, 18, went missing after a July Fourth boat outing. His body was later recovered, and the case remains under investigation, notes People. The high-profile death of the Black teen, who was socializing with mostly white friends, has ignited intense online scrutiny—at least two people have been charged with making public threats. The new fundraiser's organizer, Warren's father Benjamin Hudson, says the teens have faced death threats and doxxing, and frames the effort as a stand against "defamation" and "targeted harassment."