Rachel Dolezal: ‘Transracial’ activist booked and released from jail on welfare fraud charges

Rachel Dolezal—the former head of Spokane’s NAACP chapter who grabbed national headlines when her white heritage came to light—was booked on welfare fraud charges after reporting to a Washington jail Monday.

From KREM, Dolezal, who changed her name to Nkechi Diallo in 2016, was released from Spokane County jail after having her fingerprints and booking photo taken. Dolezal is facing first-degree theft by welfare fraud, making false verification, and second-degree perjury charges for allegedly illegally raking in $8,747 in food assistance and $100 in childcare assistance between August 2015 and November 2017.

A subpoena of Dolezal’s bank statements indicated that she deposited approximately $84,000 into her account from 2015 to 2017 without reporting the reporting to the state Department of Social and Health Services, which is required by law. USA Today reported that Dolezal claimed she was bringing in $500 a month from child support, which the feds doubted as her book, In Full Color: Finding My Place in a Black and White World, hit shelves.

Fox News reported that Dolezal pleaded not guilty to the charges last month. At that time, a judge released her on her own recognizance but ordered that she report to Spokane County jail by Monday for booking and fingerprinting.

The former NAACP head’s trial is scheduled for September 10.

[Featured Image: Rachel Dolezal/AP Photo/Nicholas K. Geranios, File]