25 signatures reached
To: Nick Perry, Antony J. Blinken, Senator Richard Blumenthal
#BringBobbyHome
Robert "Bobby" Benoit is an amazing community member that has helped our community grow through hard times. While Bobby was on vacation in Jamaica as a tourist in December 2020 to meet with friends, he was falsely accused by Jamaican court officials of committing heinous crimes and is now forced to stay with police officers, who stole his passport, money, and electronic devices, against his own will. At the same time, since Mr. Benoit had been apprehended by Jamaican police officers, he has continuously been abused to the point where he now has numerous injuries across his body, including permanent damage to his left hand and persistent cloudy vision in his left eye. We ask Senator Richard Blumenthal, who represents Bobby's home state of Connecticut, to carry out the bureaucratic processes with federal agencies that would help Bobby return to the United States.
Why is this important?
Robert (Bobby) Benoit is an United States citizen who has been unable to travel back home since the year 2020. He traveled to Jamaica several times over 15 years. He befriended a family and helped them in several ways that included painting their home and buying them food. When he traveled to the country in December 2020, he was lured to an unknown and isolated location with men who wanted to kill him. He was taken out of the situation by two girls that helped him escape. He was able to arrive home safely, but he was still with one of the girls. The girl stayed at Robert’s residence throughout the night. In the middle of the night, two men barged into his home and beat him. They accused him of assaulting the girl and Robert claims that the police coerced the girl into making a verbal agreement to the accusation. Bobby was targeted for his generosity to the locals. Robert’s belongings were stolen from the Montego Bay police. His belongings were searched without a warrant. His credit cards, passport, and electronics were stolen from him. He was held in inhumane conditions, starved, and beaten while in custody. He was denied his medications, which caused him to suffer from a stroke. His treatment by the police has caused him to develop injuries such as permanent damage to his left hand, a cloudy left eye, chipped tooth, and persistent back and neck pain.
Because Robert’s passport has been stolen by the police, he has been unable to travel back to the United States. Robert reached out to Families for Freedom for assistance with his case. The main objective is to obtain a new passport for Robert. However, the police officers and several other parties haven’t been cooperative with the process. He has been unable to report his passport stolen because the police officers stole it. Additionally, the police have actively been covering up the robbery of Robert’s belongings. Robert hopes to bring awareness to his inhumane treatment and receive a new passport so he can be able to return home.