Monica Cannon-Grant, a well-known Black Lives Matter activist in Boston, has asked a federal court to schedule a change-of-plea hearing as she faces a 27-count indictment accusing her of defrauding the nonprofit she founded and using donor funds for personal expenses.
Court records show the filing requested a hearing under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the procedure used when a defendant who previously pleaded not guilty intends to change that plea to guilty or no contest. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley had previously set a jury trial to begin Oct. 14, 2025; it is not yet clear whether that date will stand if a plea is entered.
Prosecutors allege Cannon-Grant and her then-husband, Clark Grant, diverted portions of more than $1 million raised for Violence in Boston Inc. into personal use and also misused roughly $54,000 in pandemic relief funds that were intended to provide meals. The indictment, returned in 2022, includes counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, making false statements on a mortgage application and tax violations.
Authorities allege the Grants used nonprofit donations to pay for vacations, restaurant bills, salon trips, a car and rent. Prosecutors say Cannon-Grant paid herself roughly $2,788 a week beginning in October 2020 despite public statements and tax filings that she received no salary. Prosecutors also allege she directed others to apply for public and private grants on the charity’s behalf and funneled at least one $10,400 grant through a church to cover rent rather than feed children, as donors intended.
In a court filing quoted by news outlets, a short docket entry stated, “The defendant, Monica Cannon-Grant, respectfully requests that the Court schedule a change of plea hearing, pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.” The Boston Herald reported that Cannon-Grant may be negotiating a plea agreement, but filings in the case have not disclosed whether any agreement has been reached or which charges, if any, she might admit to.
When asked about the allegations and reports of a potential plea by the Daily Mail, Cannon-Grant responded by email with profanity. In one message she wrote, "Respectfully Fk You! You wasn't reaching out or interested in my side of the story when I caught this case 4 1/2 years ago and you wasn't reaching out when my deceased husband was murdered so yeah fk you." She declined further comment when contacted again.
Clark Grant, who was also accused in the indictment, died in March 2023 after a motorcycle crash in Easton, Massachusetts. He was accused of participating in the alleged scheme alongside his wife. The nonprofit’s board ousted Cannon-Grant in 2022 and subsequently closed the organization.
The case has proceeded slowly, partly because Cannon-Grant has had a succession of defense attorneys. Prosecutors and court records show she has had five different lawyers, and changes in representation repeatedly delayed the trial as new counsel reviewed the case file. Two attorneys were added after Cannon-Grant’s retained lawyer, Christopher Malcolm, was suspended from practicing law in Massachusetts. Her current counsel, George Vien and Emma Notis-McConarty, received the case files in June from Malcolm.
Cannon-Grant rose to prominence in 2020 after organizing a large protest in Boston following the killing of George Floyd and launching a partnership with a restaurant to distribute free meals to people struggling amid the pandemic. She was recognized by Boston publications for her activism, including being named a Bostonian of the Year by Boston Globe Magazine. Prosecutors say donations surged for Violence in Boston Inc. in 2020 as its operations expanded from Cannon-Grant’s home to a headquarters in Hyde Park.
The next formal step in the federal proceedings will hinge on whether the court schedules the requested Rule 11 hearing and whether Cannon-Grant enters a guilty plea to any of the charges. If no plea is entered, the case is currently set to proceed to trial on the Oct. 14 date previously scheduled by Judge Kelley.